Donuts and Dumbbells: An Unlikely Pairing
by SourceOfEvil
Summary: Paul is a successful fitness instructor who loves his job and loves helping others. Stephanie is an overweight woman trying to get her life together so she can fit in with society's views. But when it comes to love, do looks really matter?
1. Mr Perfect

**Guys seriously, someone stop me from writing all these damn stories lol. I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn't become one of those authors that has like ten stories going at once but I can't help it! I get an idea and just start writing! *sigh* hope you like this one! I'm trying a different route. I'd like to think of it as a mixture of My Savior and If you only knew how much with drama and a very unlikely paring coming together. :) Enjoy.**

* * *

_Come on Stephanie, you can do it, just one...more...step!_

"Yes" I said to myself as I reached the steps of the local donut shop. This was my favorite place to chill and to eat. It also didn't make me feel bad as the majority of people who went there were either my size or bigger. It's no secret that I'm in a major need of a diet, I'm 250 pounds over weight, so it's safe to say I'd never make it on America's next top model. But I have a heart of gold and people absolutely love me for it. Although, I must admit, I see skinner girls and of course I get envious at times but I know that'll never be me in a million years so I've just come to terms with my weight. I'll probably never find my knight in shining armor, and if I did, he'd probably be as big as me because that's the only type of guy that would ever go for a chick like me. My thoughts were soon interrupted by two young ladies talking.

"Oh my god, Ashley, you're totally not gonna eat that are you!?" A young woman said at the counter as she saw her friend order a blueberry muffin. "It probably has so many calories that it's ridiculous! You're never gonna keep Dave with a big figure."

"You're right" the friend said nodding "he is a huge fitness buff, I better put this down. Thanks for being an amazing friend, Tiff" Ashley said with a smile as she threw the muffin in the trash.

Tiff smiled, "what are friends for? Now get something healthy"

"Ummm" Ashley said as she turned and looked at the menu above the register. The cashier looked as annoyed as I did after hearing these two idiots. "Um, I'll have the yogurt, with extra fruit please" Ashley said with a smile.

"Great choice, I'll have that as well" Tiff said

As the two ladies walked out of the donut shop, I couldn't help but scoff at them.

"Ugh," I said taking a huge bite of my donut. "Skinny bitches"

* * *

"One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four...come on, you can do it, just take a deep breath, inhale and exhale, one, two, three, four, last set one, two, three, four. Good job, now let's work on some lifts. So you're gonna take your left leg and -"

"Bitch, shut up" I said as I turned the tv to another channel, I get so sick and tired of seeing all these damn exercise programming shows at midnight. Like is that really the only thing that's on? "The only thing I'm gonna be lifting is this cookie to my mouth" I said as I as I took a huge bite of the delicious treat.

As I continued to flick through the channels, I saw nothing piqued my interest until I saw that my favorite movie was coming on next right after another one of these dumbass fitness programs.

"Well, I can wait another 5 minutes" I said as I clicked on the program.

"Okay, so this is our last set, and it's really going to work your core and butt muscles" the young man with long beautiful blonde hair said as he looked directly in the camera.

"Mmm" I said licking my lips "I'd sure like to have you work my butt muscles"'I said before laughing.

"Okay, you guys ready?"

"Oh, I was born ready" I said with a smirk as I ate another cookie. I watched as the young man explained how to do the exercises. He was hot as hell, he had muscles bulging from every part of his body, he had the cutest little turtle brown eyes, thin but sexy lips and to top it all off, beautiful blonde locks, he was perfect.

"You feel the burn, guys?" The instructor asked

"Yeah"

"I do"

"It's working alright"

"Woo"

Said the backups who were performing the workout.

"Just five more, one, two, three, take a deep breath, hold it, let it out, four and five. That was great guys, you were wonderful. And for all you watching at home, it's been a pleasure training you, I'm Paul Levesque and you can call this number at the bottom of the screen for personal training either from myself or my co-trainers" he said motioning to the guys towards the back before turning to face the camera again. "And if you're in the area, come on downtown to 458th street on Parker's Lane to Levesque's Fitness Center and get your free thirty day membership and start yourself on a path to a better body and a healthier life" he said as he winked and smile at the camera "goodnight everybody" the beautiful man said as the camera faded out and my movie began to play.

"I'd come just to look at you" I said before chuckling again and grabbing the blankets as I sat back and enjoyed my movie.

* * *

As I was enjoying my donut, I stopped and turned when I heard a familiar voice.

"Yeah, I'll have two chocolate donuts and one jelly filled donut. Oh, and a large soda"

"It's _him_" I said to myself, it's the guy from the tv show I saw last night. And with him being so keen on fitness, you'd think this would be the last place he'd be.

He took his order and smiled at the cashier who was practically drooling over being in the presence of such a great beauty. He stopped in his tracks and looked around as all the tables, booths and bar stools were currently occupied.

And then, in a weird sort of way, we both made eye contact, but he didn't turn his head or turn the other way, he flashed me that on so beautiful movie star smile of his and started walking towards me.

_Oh, my god...whaaaaat are you doing dude?_ I thought to myself as he got closer _why are you coming over here?_ I turned around in my booth just to check and see if some hot blonde was behind me and maybe he was going towards her and not me. But when I turned around, there was nothing but a group of teens and some older couples in the back.

"Excuse me" the deep, yet sexy, and gentle voice said

"Yes?" I said turning around slowly, as only I could because of my size

"Is this seat taken?" He said pointing to the empty booth

_No. But it can be._ I thought

"No" I said nicely

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all" I said motioning for him to sit down. _Stephanie, what are you doing?_

"Thank you" he said as he sat down

"So," I said shifting in my seat "you're that guy on tv"

"Yep" he said taking a bite of his chocolate donut "that's me" he said as he took a swig of his drink "and you're that girl in the booth" he said with a smirk.

"What the...oh" I said as I blushed and looked down before looking up at him again "I'm sorry, you must get that a lot"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it gets kind of annoying, it's like, I have a name" he said as his laughed.

_Mmm, sexy laugh, sexy smile, sexy body and sexy face. You're just little Mr. perfect aren't ya?_ I thought.

"Well, I'm Stephanie or booth girl"

He chuckled, "I'm Paul," he said with a nod "or, better know as 'that guy'" he said as he took both hands and made two finger guns and pointed them at me as he winked and made a clicking sound with his tongue.

"So, Paul, what are you doing here?"

"Getting some grub obviously" he said as he held up the jelly filled donut"

"Well, no shit" I said smirking at him "but you being this huge fitness buff and all, I thought this would be the last place a guy like you would be."

"But I'm still human, I have my days" he said as he took a bite.

"You tell others to eat right but look at you" I said shaking my head "hypocrite" I said smiling

He smiled as he titled his head to the side, "Guilty as charged" he said as he lifted up his arms and shrugged his shoulders. "So, Stephanie, what do you like to do in your free time?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I said giving him an annoyed look

"No, tell me" he said wiping his hands with a napkin

"So you're just gonna make me tell you, huh?" I said rolling my eyes as I leaned back and crossed my arms.

"I mean, you don't _have_ to. I wouldn't nor can I make you do anything. But I would like to know" he said with a smile

"Eat"

He laughed.

I rolled my eyes.

"Well, besides that, like hobbies"

"Well when you're this size" I said spreading my arms "there's not much you can do"

"That's not true" he said shaking his head as he took a sip of his drink

"Oh yeah?" I said leaning forward on the table

"Yeah, there's plenty you can do"

"Like what?"

"Fishing, hiking, reading, jogging just to name a few things"

"Okay, fishing? I'd eat every one I caught, do you really think I hike or even can? Reading? Yeah, I read the McDonalds menu and jogging? Pffft, the only place I'll jog is here."

He burst out laughing. "You're hilarious" he said as he shook his head. "Wow, beautiful and funny...I like that" he said as his eyes scanned my body.

"And fat"

He rolled his eyes and sighed as he leaned back.

"What?" I asked

"So, you're one of **_those_** people, huh?"

"What do you mean by **_those_** people?" I said raising a brow

"Ones that can never take a compliment, ones that find bad in everything good. Ones that are always feeling sorry for themselves and expect others to do the same...in other words, you're bitter because you're not where you want to be"

I've never been one to get angry, I don't like the feeling of it. But the blood inside of me was boiling, I was red hot. Satan didn't have shit on me right now.

"First of fucking all" I said standing up

His eyes grew wide in shock as he looked around at everyone who was staring at us.

"You don't know jack shit about me"

"Just calm down, please" he said trying to quiet me down "I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"You know what type of person you are? An egotistical asshole who thinks he knows everything about people and their life. Just because fitness is your life doesn't mean everyone who doesn't work out isn't just as happy as you." I said as I picked up his drink and took the lid off. "And I'm not bitter" I said throwing the drink on him "I'm mad as hell, because assholes like you think you can treat someone like me any kind of fucking way" I said as I threw the cup down and stormed off.

Paul sat there in shock as he grabbed a few napkins and wiped his face clean before rushing out the door.

"HEY!" He said as he called after me "HEY! I know you hear me! Wait up" he said as he started running. When he finally caught up to me he jumped in front of me to stop me.

"You're lucky I can't walk very fast"

"That wasn't very nice"

"And what you said was?" I said folding my arms over my chest

He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I truly am sorry. It's just, I grew up around so much negative people and people who always tried to hold either myself or others down and it just made me resent people. It's like, I just can't stand to see people always looking for an excuse or a way out of something, it sickens me. And I'm not saying that's what you did, it's just you're a beautiful, intelligent young woman and I just hate for you to degrade yourself the way you did back there. Anything is possible, that's my motto and I just want to help you"

"And who said I wanted or **_needed_** your help?" I said with an attitude

"No one, but.."

"Exactly, now move"

He smirked. "Make me"

"You might be strong, but I'm big as fuck, so it won't be that hard"

He chuckled. "I love your humor"

"And I'd love for you to get away from me"

"Can I take you out to dinner?"

"Oh, so you can bitch over what I order?"

"So that's a yes?" He said with a smile

I rolled my eyes. "I never said yes"

"And you didn't say no either" he said moving his eyebrows up and down "so, what do you say, it's a date right?"

"No" I said as I tried to move around him

"I like when women play hard to get"

"I'm not playing anything, just seriously trying to get away from you"

"And why is that?"

"Because you're a dick and..."

"Heyyyy, I thought we agreed to no name calling" he said with a pout

"**I** never agreed to anything, and you just can't insult someone and think that taking them out to dinner will make up for it. I know that I'm no super model, but even I have my standards"

"And I respect that, but just give me a chance to show you that under all this hard muscle, I'm a nice guy, a real softie"

"Okay, so we go to dinner, you play nice guy and then what?"

He chuckled, "I'm not playing anything, we go to dinner, get to know one another a little better and if all goes well, we can go out again"

I thought it about it for a moment, he seems pretty serious. But why in blue hell does this guy want to go out with me? I mean, I understand that he's trying to be nice but he could have apologized and stopped there, why is he doing so much. I'm not one that likes to be played.

"Please" he said softly

I looked at him and scanned up him and down with my eyes before speaking. "Alright, fine"

"Yes" he said as he made a fist and raised his arm in the air and jerked it back down "so, what time should I pick you up?"

I gave him a you can't be serious look. "I just met you, I'm not allowing you anywhere near my house, what if you turn out to be a killer"

He chuckled. "I assure you that I'm not that"

"That's what they all say and next thing I know, I'm hanging from a ceiling and I'm your personal punching bag"

He smiled. "Steph"

"Who am I kidding? My ass couldn't hang from a ceiling anyway, it'd cave it"

He smiled and rubbed my arm. "Stop it" he said softly

I have to admit, him touching me was sending all sorts of good feelings through my body since I wasn't resisting him this time.

"Okay, okay" I said putting my hands up in the air

"So, where can I pick you up then?"

"Here, well there" I said pointing towards the donut shop "near witnesses"

He laughed. "Okay, well can I at least have your phone number in case something comes up and I can't make it and you won't think I stood you up, or vice versa"

"283-587-2010"

He nodded as he put the number in and dialed it, and before long, my phone started ringing. "Had to make sure you weren't fooling me"

I smiled.

He raised his hand to his chest "oh my god, she smiled."

"Shut up," I said placing my hand on his massive chest and slightly pushing him. "Just don't be late"

"I won't" he said with a smile

I smiled as I turned and started walking away before he called after me.

"Hey, Steph"

I turned.

"See ya tonight" he said with a smirk

I smiled. "See you tonight" I said as I turned around and started walking towards my car. "Fat girl meets muscle boy, who would have thought?" I said as I shook my head and got in the car.

* * *

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	2. First Date

I didn't know if we were going somewhere fancy or just a casual place to eat because Paul wouldn't tell me. Now I was struggling to find something nice to wear, I didn't want to be under dressed nor did I want to be over dressed either.

"Fuck" I said as I stared at my closet "You damn skinny bitches can chose whatever" I said to myself.

After an hour of frustration I finally settled on a nice dressy black shirt and some jeans with nice boots to match. I curled my hair and applied my makeup before grabbing my keys and walking out the door. When I arrived, Paul was already there and he was standing outside his car leaning on it looking like the god he is. He had his hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and was wearing a khaki blazer which he had open that showed his crisp white shirt that was buttoned with two left undone at the top, jeans and brown dress shoes. I licked my lips as I pulled up beside him.

"Hey there stranger"

"You actually showed up" he said as he walked over and opened my door for me

"Why wouldn't I?" I said stepping out

"I just expected you to blow me off and...you look nice, _really_ nice" he said with a smile as he played with my curls

"Big girls can dress, too"

"I know" he said as he looked me up and down "Ready?"

_I was born ready._ I thought then I chuckled when I remembered I said the exact same thing the other night when I first saw him on tv.

"Whats so funny?" He smiled as he placed his hand on the small of my back and walked me around the car

"Oh, nothing. But the question is, are you ready?"

"why would I have to be ready?" he asked as he opened my door to his Cadillac Escalade.

"Lets just say, I hope you have your wallet, cause I'm not one of those salad eating chicks"

"Have you ever considered being a comedian?" he said as he got in

"Would that require me moving a lot...physically I mean?"

"Well, you'd have to move across the stage from time to time and-"

"Then nope"

* * *

"So, what made you want to start your own gym?" I asked as I took one of the delicious buttery biscuits and placed it inside of my mouth.

"_Gym**s**_"

"Hmm?

"I have a few gyms, the one here and my gym in LA are my true money makers, but the others are just little small centers just to give kids something in the community to do to stay out of trouble."

"Working out keeps them out of trouble?"

He chuckled. "Well, there's an indoor arcade, so the majority come for that while their parents or older siblings work out." He said flashing that beautiful smile of his.

"So how does a guy like you not have a girlfriend?"

He smiled. "Can't find the right one, hopefully that can change..._tonight_"

I blushed. _He's quite the charmer isn't he?_

"So, why don't you have a bo-"

"Do you even have to ask? And don't give me that 'be positive' speech. The only guys interested in me are guys that are either my size or bigger and that's never a good pairing. One, because, if one of us rolls over on the other in our sleep we're dead because you don't have the strength to roll back over and I can't push them off, so there I go. If we try and have sex, one or two things could possibly happen; one we both have heart attacks from all the excess energy that we're not used to using or two we start a fire. And you know guys like you are never interested in girls like me. So to answer your question, that's why I'm single."

He chuckled. "That's not true"

I raised my brows. "You've obviously never seen fat people breed before"

He covered up his mouth to keep from spitting out his food. "Why do you speak as if you guys are not human?"

"Because we're not, we're a different breed. At least to all these skinny bitches out here."

He chuckled. "What I was saying is that you are wrong about guys like me not being interested in girls like you"

"How so?"

"Well, i'm _more_ than interested in you" he said as he winked at me

I was about to reply when the waiter came and sat our food down and left, but not before she winked at Paul.

"what is this?" I said looking down at one of the plates and then back at him with a confused face

"Oh, thats a salad" he said grabbing his fork "it comes with every meal"

I looked down and saw one full leaf of lettuce with a tomatoe and some fancy sauce spread around it. "This is not a salad" I said holding it up. "this is a sprig of lettuce" I said as I threw it down. "and what's this?"

"Thats the chicken alfredo you ordered"

I looked up and gave him the same look again. "Paul"

"yes?"

"this is three small cubes of chicken with like ten strings of pasta. Are you trying to starve me?"

He chuckled.

"How can you eat at a place like this?, $100 dollars for some strings of pasta and a sprig of lettuce?" I said looking at it again "No." I said softly as I shook my head and stood up.

"no what? where are you going?"

"I can't do this, I gotta eat. I'm a big girl and we don't get down like that. You gotta take me somewhere else"

"um, ok…" he said looking confused "Um, where would you like to go?"

"give me the keys"

* * *

"mmm" Paul said as he licked his lips. "I haven't had food like this in years"

"Yep, welcome to Franko's" I said as I bit into my burger

"Wow, I never knew this place existed" Paul said as he stuffed his mouth with more fries and took a huge bite of his burger "this is delicious" he said with a full mouth

"calm down solider" I said laughing as I popped two pieces of fried shrimp in my mouth

"the seasoning! oh my god, the seasoning!"he said after taking a bite of fried chicken

I laughed. "yeah, you'd be surprised by how your taste buds react when they aren't being forced to eat 2 strings of pasta" I said shaking my head

Paul grabbed his soda and took a large swig before wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Thank god today was cheat day, this worked out perfectly" he said as he popped some more fries in his mouth.

"So what was yesterday with the donuts?"

"Just me being greedy" he smiled as he reached over and stole a piece of my shrimp really fast

"Hey, i'll kick a bitch over my shrimp" I said holding up the butter knife

Just then a bunch of girls walked in with their boyfriends and sat down at a table. I couldn't help but notice the perky boobs that one had.

"I bet a donut could balance perfectly on those"

Paul laughed. "what?" he said turning around to see what I was looking at before laughing again "those are so damn fake" he said shaking his head

"I never understood that"

"understood what?

"Buying titties" I said eating one of his fries "why buy titties when you got socks at home" I said shaking my head

This time Paul spit his drink out as he laughed. "st...st..stop it" he said holding his hand up

"Well it's true and cheaper."

"You know what Stephanie? you have truly made my night, i'm so glad you agreed to go out with me" he said with a smile "I haven't laughed this hard or had this much fun in years"

"Well, i'm glad I could do that" I said with a smile

"You want any dessert?"

_Yeah. You_

"Do you even have to ask? you know damn well my ass wants some cake"

"st...st...stoooop" he said as his head fell against the table as he laughed

"Matter of fact" I said turning and looking towards the counter that had a huge chocolate cake on it "Just bring that whole motherlover over here"

* * *

As the night ended, Paul drove me back to my car and got out and walked me up to it.

"I really had a lot of fun tonight Stephanie" he said as he placed his hand on top of the car and leaned in.

"Me too" I said fidgeting with my keys

"And i'd really like to take you out again sometime"

"If we're gonna go eat, and I get to choose, then you got a deal"

He chuckled. "yes, you definitely get to choose"

"Well, alright" I said as I placed my key in the ignition and started the car "I guess this is goodnight"

"yeah" he said softly

"yeah"I replied

"Steph"

"yes?" I answered as I looked up, that's when I saw his face coming towards mine and in an instant, his soft lips were slowly moving across mine, his free hand cupped my cheek as his tongue brushed over mine gently and he tugged on my bottom lip before pulling back. I could say nothing as I sat there in shock, blinking my eyes repeatedly, trying to assess what just happened.

"See ya around" he said as he gave me quick peck to the lips and shut my door

"wow" was all I managed to say as I turned and watched my knight in shining armor drive away.

* * *

**Leave Reviews! :)**

**I'm gonna try and update Trophy Wife (Not today) but I honestly don't know where to go with it at the moment. My Savior has been updated.**


	3. Mrs Perfect

***READ*** Hey guys, from now on instead of _Author's Notes_ since you all hated those, i've started posting them in my profile thingy, under the label **_*ANNOUNCEMENTS*_ **But anyway when you get time, go check that out and that's how you'll know when the next update will be for all stories, including this one, going forward. :)

**P.S.** I purposely spelled things incorrectly when writing for Frank, just to show how thick his accent is. And when you see Paul's name italicized when Frank and Tony are speaking, thats just showing how much emphasis they apply to his name because of their Brooklyn accents...don't look at me like that, this is how my brain works people!

* * *

"Man she's just perfect, she's beautiful, she makes me laugh and she's so nice and just fun to be around. She's a little hard on herself from time to time but you know that's just women in general"

"Sounds like she's right up your alley" Donnie said, "haven't seen you this excited about a girl in years"

"That's because all the ones I've dated have all been the same. Either with me for the money or my looks. I mean, I'm not the richest guy on the planet but I have enough to maintain their standards and that's all they needed. And by the time I discovered that, it was too late. But she's different, she doesn't care about the gyms, or the fact that I'm on tv or anything like that. I took her down to eat at Percy's last week and she couldn't stand the place!" Paul said shaking his head as he started to chuckle when he remembered all the things she did and said.

"Percy's!? Isn't that that high priced ass restaurant on Mel velvet?" Rico asked as he got up from doing his sprinter sit ups

"Yep" Paul said nodding his head as he continued to lift the curl bar

"Man, I wish I could afford to take a girl there" Frank said shaking his head

"You can, you're just cheap as hell" Chaz joked as he and the other guys including Paul began to laugh.

"Dats very true" Frank said nodding "but I just wanna spend that type of money on a gurl who deserves it, not someone who needs to be impressed"

"Ah, can't disagree with that" Rico said pointing at him

"And I can see why, ya ass couldn't get a gurl if ya tried!" Frank said as he burst out into laughter

"Fuck you Frank" Rico said rolling his eyes

"In ya dreams"

"I'm ten times better looking then you homes, I can have any little mama-sita that I desire"

"Oh yeah?" Frank said egging him on

"yeah!"

"Fuck outta here" Frank said dismissing him with a wave of his hand "Take ya ass back to Mexico"

"I'm from Puerto Rico you idiot! Chaz is mexican!"

"I'm fucking Italian!" Chaz said looking at the two of them as he picked up a weight "just like you Frank, except I don't speak like i'm a mobster"

Paul and Donnie smiled at one another and shook their heads.

"well, I'm from England if it helps" Donnie said smiling

"I'm friends with the whole fucking globe!" Paul said laughing

"Rican, Mexican, it's the same fucking thing!" Frank said shrugging his shulder

"Is not!" Rico said

"One loves tacos and da other loves quesadillas and hot rice"

Paul smiled as he watched his two friends go back and forth

"So _Paul_" Tony, who had been sitting in the corner quietly, said as he interrupted the two. "When uh, when we gonna meet this new chick eh?" He said in his thick Brooklyn accent

"Yeah yeah, I'm with Tony over der" Frank said in his thick accent. "I'm dying to meet da gurl that has _Paul Levesque_ wrapped around ha fanga"

Paul smirked as he looked at his friends "In due time gentlemen" Paul said lifting the weights "in due time"

* * *

I could feel their eyes on me, I could even hear some of the whispers, but I didn't give a fuck, I just knew that they were jealous that he was holding my hand and not theirs.

"So, where do you want to go next?" Paul asked me as he let go of my hand and lifted up the shopping bags "I think you've brought out every store here"

I smirked. "I went in **_two_** stores, the other three trillion bags are all _**yours**_"

He chuckled. "You won't even take the blame, will you?"

"Why should I?" I said in a flirty tone

"Why shouldn't you?" He said in the same tone as he stepped closer to me, his chest lightly brushing up against mine.

"Paul" I said softly as I backed away

"Yes?"

"Can we talk?"

"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good, but sure" he said as he looked around until he spotted a bench. "there" he said pointing to it.

We placed our bags down and sat down on the comfy bench that had soft cushions on the bottom.

"So" he said entwining his fingers, he seemed nervous "What do you want to talk about?" he said shrugging his shoulders

"Us" I said softly

"What about us? did I do something wrong?"

"No" I said shaking my head "Its just...well...what _are_ we?"

He paused for a second and looked down before looking back at me. "Um...humans"

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm being serious" I said as I smacked his chest

He smiled. "Me too, what are you talking about?"

"I mean...in terms of a relationship? are we together, are we just friends...what?"

"Oh" he said before taking another pause. "Um, I don't know"

"I mean, we were just holding hands a few minutes ago and you did kiss me after all" I said looking down "you know...last week"

"Yeah" he said nodding his head "I remember"

"Were you just trying to be sweet or...or did it actually mean something?"

"Well..." He was about to answer before he was interrupted

"Paul!" a voice called out

Paul's head snapped in the direction of the voice "Cindy!" he said as he jogged over and hugged the young lady that was wearing a skirt that was way too short and too tight and a shirt that barely covered her breasts, along with some black 6 inch pumps. "My god" he said putting his hands on his hips. "You look fantastic!"

"Oh stop it" she said lightly stroking his chest. I don't know why, but her touching him like that really pissed me off

"I'm serious" he said checking her out, which I also didn't like.

"Like what you see?" she said slowly spinning around and walking towards a huge plant and back towards him.

_Don't model for him bitch._

"Yes" Paul said nodding his head "Yes I do" he said licking his lips

"Oh, you're just too much" she said chuckling "But it's all thanks to you" she said poking his chest with her index finger.

"how so?"

"because of your workout plan I was able to shed all that weight"

"You looked good when you started"

"you're such a good liar" she said smiling

I took out my phone and tuned out the rest of their conversation. I would look up every now and then and see them laughing about something or him slightly touching her shoulder or arm like he does to me sometimes.

"So, how are Jim and the kids?"

"Oh, they're great and he's loving the new look. Not that he didn't love me before, but now I can't keep him off of me"

Paul smiled. "That was my mission"

She chuckled. "Well, I'll let you get back to doing what you were doing. I'll see ya around alright?"

"Alright" Paul said smiling "and hey"

"yeah?" she said turning around

"just because you got a new figure and all doesn't mean I want you to stop coming to the gym"

She smiled. "I got ya, take care Paul"

"you too" Paul turned and started walking back towards the bench when he noticed Stephanie was gone, her bags were gone but his was still there. "shit" he muttered to himself. He didn't want her to think that Cindy was his girlfriend or that he was ignoring her, he was just glad to see an old client again. "where the fuck is she?" he said as he looked around "she couldn't have gone that far" he said as he looked down and pulled out his phone, it wasn't until he bumped into something and almost fell down when he finally looked up.

"Damn, and you're supposed to be a fitness instructor and you can't even keep your balance" I said taking a huge bite out of my soft cinnamon pretzel "disgusting" I said shaking my head "you, not the pretzel of course" I was quick to add as I continued chewing while looking at him.

Paul chuckled as he caught his balance. "where did you go? I was worried" he said rubbing my arm.

"Isn't it obvious where i've been?" I said holding up what little was left of the pretzel "I'm a big girl, we get hungry fast"

"But why did you take your bags and leave mine?"

"Um, what do I look like carrying all these..." I said finishing off my pretzel "damn bags around?" I said chewing on it as I crumbled up the paper and threw it in the trash

He laughed. "I'm sorry"

"Besides, if someone steals your shit, you have the speed to catch up with them. If they take mine then i'm screwed."

"You could always get a skateboard"

I gave him a 'are you serious' look. "Really Paul? what does my big ass look like rolling around on a piece of wood with wheels? you just want me to fall and die, don't ya?"

Paul burst out into laughter as he held his stomach. "St..stop"

"You stop" I said rolling my eyes. "Since you're so eager to get me on wheels, you can buy me one of those power scooters we passed by on the way in here"

"Steph those are for the handicapped and elderly"

"So, I'd be gone in one of them bad boys, I'd be like vroooooooom vrooooom vroom vroom vroooooom" I said pretending I was on a motorcyle

"You're too much" Paul said laughing again

"So" I said switching the subject, "who was the chick?"

"Oh, that's Cindy an old client of mine"

"she dresses like a slut"

He chuckled. "well if anyone deserves to, it's her, she wasn't always like that. She was kicking 300 hundred when I met her"

"Hmm. sounds familiar" I said looking down.

He shook his head. "no" he said with a chuckle "i'm not insinuating anything" he said

"Good, because me and gyms are like water and oil, slaves and masters. We just don't mix"

Paul started laughing again. "why are you so funny?"

_why are you so sexy? _I thought

I shrugged.

"Come on" he said wrapping his arm around me "We've got A LOT more shopping to do"

"we?"

"Well, me" he said smiling

"You know all of this walking makes me hungry right?"

"Want a cookie?" he said taking out a bag of cookies he brought earlier

I snarled at him before snatching the bag out of his hands at lighting speed. "You know I want a damn cookie" I said taking it and shoving it in my mouth

He chuckled as he tried to wrap his arm around me again.

"Get your damn hands off me, i'm eating. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to disturb a bear when it's eating?"

Paul fell down and started laughing again.

"This idiot" I said shaking my head as I stuck another cookie in my mouth and started walking the opposite direction.

"He...hee...heyyy" Paul finally managed to get out "where ya going?"

"To get me a damn power scooter, I can't do all this walking with you" I said as I turned and kept walking

Paul sat there and stared at Stephanie as she kept walking.

_Wow, you're so perfect and you don't even know it_. He thought as he shook his head and smiled before getting up, grabbing his bags and running after his favorite girl.

* * *

**Leave Reviews**, and don't forget to check out the little thingy I mentioned in the beginning, it has **tons** of info about your favorite stories you guys :)

And if you haven't noticed, i've decided to make this story somewhat of a comedy just to change things up a bit from my previous ones that are so full of drama, not to say that this one won't have any but Its nice just to laugh once in and while.

Btw, I'm sure most of you know by now that i'm black, so the slave joke was not meant to offend, it was just something I thought of off the top of my head, don't take it so seriously, comedians do this sort of thing all the time lol so I might make a few jokes here and there in some of my stories to that effect.


	4. The drama begins

To user Bri, I actually thought of doing that when I first wrote the story, but I think I'm going to save that idea for another story. Great review though! :)

* * *

"So, have you banged him yet?"

"Josie!"

"What?" she said shrugging her shoulders as she popped a Dorito in her mouth, "its an honest question"

I shook my head as I sat down on the bed beside her. "You're disgusting" I said with a chuckle "and to answer your question, no, no I haven't slept with him. We've only been out like twice."

"But you two facetime or talk on the phone everyday, hell I'm jealous, you talk to him more than you talk to me now" she said with a fake pout

"Lies"

"Stephanie, I haven't had a single phone call from you in two weeks"

"you're lying!"

"how!?"

"I called you today!"

"Oh...well, that doesn't count. But anyway" she said throwing her hair over her shoulder. "You've been talking to this guy for like three weeks now and you still don't know if you're in a relationship?"

"Maybe he's one of those guys that like to take things slow"

"Oh please, no man I know wants to take anything slow"

"Well, hes not every man or your man"

"I **never** said he was**_ every_** or **_my_** man, ms. defensive" she said with a smirk

I blushed.

"mmmhmm" she said as she put some more chips in her mouth. "I ain't mad at ya, protect yo cock at all times honey, at _alllll_ times"

I burst out laughing. "Shut up Jo"

"When will I get to meet him?"

"Well, we have to become serious first"

"you don't consider what you are serious?"

"I need to know if we're anything at all"

"have you asked him?"

"Ye..Well, I tried"

"When? and what happened?"

"when we were at the mall last week. We were sitting down talking and I brought it up"

"What did he say?"

"He was about to answer when one of you skinny bitches called him over and interrupted, after that, I didn't ask him again"

"First of all, I might be skinny but I'm not bitch" she said laughing "and secondly, why?"

"just didn't feel right bringing it up twice, to me it would feel like I was desperate to get an answer, and you know that's not me"

"Yeah, I understand. I did that with Ken the other day and he started acting weird with me"

"I don't know why you just won't leave him, he doesn't seem committed"

"Look who's talking!"

"Well, we've only been talking for three weeks, you've know Ken for a year and he still hasn't put a label on you guys yet. That says **a lot**."

"Such as?"

"well, if it was me, It would tell me that if he's not willing to claim me in public, then he shouldn't have me in private"

"Whatever" she said rolling her eyes "besides, Ken's not going no where, he needs me"

"You sure that's not the other way around?"

She cut a sharp glare at me

"All i'm saying is that I don't want you to get hurt, you're a beautiful girl and you deserve a man that's gonna treat you as such"

"Stephanie, I'm not stupid. This isn't' _Iyanla fix my life_', I know how to leave. I just don't want to" she said playing with her fingers

"I'm sorry" I said softly

"I'm not mad, at least not at you, I just want him to be more open to me. Sometimes I feel that it's all about the sex, I stay because I feel that he's gonna change one day, ya know?"

"I know" I said rubbing her back "I thought the same thing with Eric and you see how that turned out" I said as I thought back to my ex, he's the reason why i'm the size I am now. I mean, don't get me wrong, i've always kinda been a big girl but it wasn't until he put me through the emotional and **physical** abuse that I really started to gain weight. Food was my only comfort, thats how I found the donut shop.

Just then, I remembered our last conversation when I confronted him about cheating:

**_Flasback_**

"Nobody and I mean noobody is ever gonna love you the way I love you, bitch" Eric said as he grabbed my chin and squeezed it hard as he shoved me into the wall

"Eric sto..stop"

"Shut the fuck up" he said as he slammed me back against the wall again. "You're nothing and you're never going to be nothing without me, I made you and I can break you." he said getting in my face. "Do you really think anyone else would even want you? look at you, you're disgusting, you're fat and you're worthless"

"Don't say that" I said as tears begin to flow

"Look at me" he said letting go of my face and backing up with his arms wide open. "six pack abs, killer good looks, a smile to die for, and money out the ass. You know how many bitches would kill to be with me? and i'm sitting up here with your big fat dumbass. You better recognize a real king when you see one"

I said nothing as I looked down

"Look at me!"

I looked up

"**Don't you ever**, and I mean** ever** question the shit I do again" he said as he pointed a finger in my face "Do you hear me?" he said as he poked my cheek hard

"Yes" I said as a tear came crashing down

"Good, now get the fuck out of my face. Matter of fact, get your shit, you're on the streets till I tell you to come back"

"But Eric I.."

_**WHAP! **_was the sound I remembered hearing as I fell to the floor.

* * *

"Stephanie...stephanie...STEPH!?"

"HUH?!" I said snapping back into reality.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah i'm fine" I said rubbing my head "but back to you"

"you sure you alright?"

"yeah, i'm fine" I said putting on a fake smile that didn't go unnoticed by my friend, but she could tell I had no desire to talk about it and changed the subject

"Back to you and Paul" she said with a smile

"here we go" I said shaking my head with a smile

"when's the next time you two are going out?"

"well, he invited me out tomorrow"

"what are you two doing?"

"I don't know, he said it was a surprise"

"if it ends up being like a romantic dinner or something, that would be the perfect time to ask him"

"Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?" I said nodding in agreement " i'll ask him then"

"Alright, now hand me the remote. We're about to get this slumber party started with some Netflix"

* * *

"Please, no more" I begged

"Come on Steph, only five more" Paul said as he flashed that beautiful smile of his, one I felt like knocking slam off his face.

"Paul,"

"come on, one, two, there you go just three more. Three, four, five and you're done"

"I can't believe I let you talk me into working out."

He shrugged as he smiled. "What can I say? it's part of my charm"

"No you're just an asshole, thats what" I said gulping down some water.

"But you like it"

I blushed.

"so," he said taking a sip from his water bottle. "what are you doing this weekend?"

"Nothing" I said quickly

"good" he said nodding his head as he took another swig before setting it down.

"Why?"

"I wanna hang out with you" he said smiling "Ya know, go somewhere or stay in and watch a few movies"

_Oh, I'll stay in with you alright._

"Oh"

"I mean, if you want to of course"

"I do" I said as I removed the weights from around my ankles that he made me put on. "sounds like it'll be a good time"

"It will" he said patting me on the back.

"So um, Paul"

"Yeah?"

"about what I asked you in the mall the other day..."

"You asked me a ton of things, particular 'can we leave' and 'whens lunch time'?" he said laughing "Oh, and you made me explain to you why you shouldn't take the little power cart thingy and drive around with it"

I chuckled. "Besides that, I asked you about us being in a rela..."

"Paul!"

_Fuck! someone is **always** calling his name whenever I bring this up, its like they're in sync with my mind or something_

"Yeah?" he answered

"Someone is waiting for you in your office" a man said

"okay" he said nodding "do you know who it is?"

"Karen"

"Fuck" Paul muttered to himself but I heard him. "Alright, thanks Johnny"

"No problem" he said walking away.

"Who's Karen?"

"She's my..." he said as he started to scratch his head nervously "um...she's...well, **_technically_** she's my..."

"i'm his wife" A young woman said as she walked up behind Paul. She had a really nice figure, kinda put you in the mind of that wrestler chick Sable, except she had brown hair like mine, and beautiful green almond shaped eyes that were to die for. Full lips, nice boobs and an ass out of this world. Scratch that, she was no Sable, she was better! "and **_you_** are?" she said looking me up and down as if I had some sort of disease

"_**Stephanie**_" I said giving her the same attitude back. "Paul" I said turning towards him "I didn't know you had a **wife**"

"I can explain that" he said with a nervous look on his face

"explain what? there's nothing to explain" she said looking at him before turning towards me and laughing a little. "Don't tell me **this** is my replacement" she said motioning towards me.

"excuse me?" I said walking up closer to her.

_This bitch has lost her damn mind. I might be big and slow, but once I get a bitch in my grip, it's all she wrote._

"Whatever" she said dismissing me with a wave of her hand "I've been waiting on you for like an hour, we need to talk."

"about what?" Paul said to her with an annoyed tone.

"It's about Carter"

"What about Carter?" all of a sudden his whole demeanor changed and he was more serious

"We need to talk about Carter..._**In private**_" she said looking at me and then at him

"okay, just go wait for me in my.."

"**No.** I've already waited for you."

"Kar.."

"No! now!"

"don't make a fucking scene" Paul said with a snarl

"i'm out of here" I said turning around

"Steph, wait" he said grabbing my arm but I snatched out of his grip

"go handle your _**wife**_" I said before grabbing my bag and walking towards the door. Once I got to the door, I turned around and saw the two walk towards his office, once they were out of sight I went up to the front desk. "Hi"

"Hello"

"Johnny, right?"

"Yes"

"I know this is personal and none of my business but, who's Carter?"

"Carter?" he repeated

"That lady, no, that **bitch**"

He laughed. "yes, she's very much a bitch"

"She said something to Paul about needing to talk to him about _Carter_"

"Oh! Carter,_ that_ Carter, yes, I know him"

"Who is he?"

"Oh, that's his son"

My heart sank, I couldn't move or feel anything.

_This asshole not only has a wife but a kid as well!_

"You okay?" Johnny said as he noticed how my body language changed

"Oh, yeah" I said snapping back into reality. "Well thanks, have a nice day Johnny"

"No prob, and you too" he said as I walked out of the door.

I opened the door to my car, got in, and just sat there.

_A **wife** and A **son**._ I repeated to myself over and over again before finally shaking Paul from my thoughts. I started the car and drove to the one place where I knew I could get true comfort. The Doughnut Shop.

* * *

**Leave Reviews! :D**

**There's always some bitch in the story that has to ruin everything, smh lol.**


	5. Questions

So according to my twitter inbox, fanfic inbox and the reviews, apparently Stephanie is too **ghetto** for some, so I'll just make her this preppy stuck up bitch that everyone will hate lol jk. Listen guys, this is a fan_** FICTION** _site after all, we **ALL** know that Stephanie does **NOT** act nor talk like that, it's just for the **fun** of it. I just like making her sassy because its not only funny but gets the point across stronger sometimes. Besides, in **every** damn Steph &amp; HHH story on this site, its the same damn thing with her being this terrified little person that can't or won't do anything for herself, or that's always afraid to speak up for herself when she's **NOT** like that in real life either. So I got sick of that stereotype and decided to add some spunk to her character.

As for why I made her fat, a fat person that doesn't care nonetheless, because not every large woman wants to be skinny, who says being skinny is the only way for someone to be happy? or for a **fictional** story to be successful? unhealthy, yes, but at the end of the day this is **FICTION** and this story only has five chapters so far, so I don't think its fair to judge how she's going to be before it even ends. Who's to say that she won't become fit in the end? you just got to keep reading to see, and if you don't like it, hey **you can always stop reading**, **no one** is forcing you by holding a bat to your face like Sting did HHH.

* * *

"HE HAS A WHAT!?"

"Yep, you heard me" I said as I stuffed some ice cream in my mouth

"I can't believe this!"

"You!? What about me!? And here I was thinking he was a nice guy and he has a damn family. I knew I should have just kept walking away the day I threw that drink on him. No good bastard"

"Now this explains why he never said what you guys were"

"Yeah! And do you know he had the nerve to try and invite me over for dinner and a movie?"

"Invite you? Shit, it would probably have to be at your place since he wanna play 19 and counting at his house" Josie said shaking her head. "What are you gonna do if he calls you?"

"Hang up, or not answer at all" I said adding more sprinkles

"Good thing he doesn't know where you live so he can't show up"

"Right, then the police would have to get involved."

"Or me, I'd beat his ass for you"

I chuckled. "That's why you're my bitch"

"Listen bitch, what have I told you about calling me a bitch?"

I burst out laughing. "Oh how I love you JoJo"

* * *

"Steph just wait"

"You don't have anything to say to me"

"You're wrong, I have plenty to say to you."

"No, I think a wife and kid pretty much summed everything up for me"

"Listen I...how did you know I have a kid?"

"The question isn't _how_ did it know, it's _why_ didn't I know?"

"Just let me explain, please"

"I'm listening, you have two minutes" I said folding my arms over my chest.

"okay" he said taking a deep breath "yes, she's my wife but not the way you think"

"explain" I said rolling my eyes

"We dated for a year and then got married at a **really** young age. We were married for about 4 years and then we decided, well more so, _she_ decided that we should separate. So we've been separated for the last year and I filed divorce docs but she won't sign them because all of a sudden she wants to 'work it out', when she started to come to the realization that I had moved on when she saw me with my ex Jasmine. So every chance she gets, she holds Carter over my head to get what she wants"

"and Carter is?" I already knew the answer but I wanted to hear it from his mouth

"My son" he said slowly while giving me a weird look because he knew I already knew the answer.

"mhm" I said nodding my head

"well, _technically_ hes not my son either but he is."

"what is with you and people _technically_ and not technically being in your life? either they are or they aren't"

"Like, hes's not mine. As in, never came from my nut sack."

I raised a brow

Paul shook his head "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it that way. Anyway, she cheated on me when we were together and got pregnant by another dude. But refusing to give up on my marriage because I really loved her, I took him in and raised him as my own. The moment I saw him, I knew he wasn't mine, and besides that, the dates between us having sex and her getting pregnant never added up. But he means the world to me and I would never let anyone or anything harm him."

"Well, I admire you for being a good father, but that doesn't mean I admire the way you handle your relationships, or whatever you want to call what we were"

"were?"

"I don't have time for this Paul, listen, it was fun and all but you need to go play house and I need to find the nearest bakery" I said turning around to walk off but he grabbed my arm.

"Just give me another chance, please, and if you do, I promise you from this moment on that there will be no more secrets. You have my word"

I thought about it for a second or two before speaking. "why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can have any woman on this planet and yet you're going after me...why?"

"Can I explain that over dinner?"

A huge grin spread across my face. "Have you ever known me to turn down a meal?"

Paul smirked and entwined his fingers with mine. "Let's take a little walk"

"So you wanna work me out before I eat, great" I said in a sarcastic tone as we headed down the sidewalk, hand in hand.

* * *

"I just wanna know how she found out I had a kid" Paul said as he lifted the bench press bar

"You didn't tell ha?" Frank asked, who was behind Paul spotting him

"No. I mean, I was gonna tell her but I wanted to wait and see where we were first. Like if this could be a real thing or not" Paul said as he continued to pump the bar up and down

"Think she spyin on ya or sum-en?" Frank asked

"Nah" Paul said shaking his head "she's not that type of girl"

"Well, what type of girl is she?" Rico asked "you talk about her a lot for someone we've never seen"

"I agree with that" Donnie said as he spotted Tony

"Hey Chaz, mind bailing me out here?" Paul asked

Chaz chuckled. "well it is true, but anyways, leave him alone you guys, we'll see her when we see her"

"thank you" Paul said

"Five more _Paul_" Frank said "and then ya done"

"Alright" Paul said as he paused before starting back again "count em out for me"

"One...Two...Three...Four...come on, up, up, five! You got it!"

"Wooo!" Paul said as he placed the bar and sat up "getting stronger everyday" he said as he flexed his muscles

"Show off" Donnie said

"That's what I do best. Hey Johnny!" Paul said as he spotted him walking by

"You need something boss?"

"Nah, i'm good. I just need to ask you a question."

"sure thing"

"You know the woman I was with the other day when Karen showed up?"

"uhhhh...Stephanie right?" he said taking a minute to think before he answered

"yeah"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"did she seem upset when she left?"

"A little, she asked about Karen and Carter"

"you didn't say anything right?"

"...I wasn't supposed to?"

Paul stood up "You're the one who told her!?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was some secret since everyone basically knows who they are"

"If everyone knew then you wouldn't have told her, now would you?"

"Calm down" Tony said as he walked over "Kid didn't know, sure if he knew you wanted to keep it a secret, he wouldn't have spilled the beans. Right kid?"

Johnny nodded.

"See?" Tony said as he patted Paul on the back and walked towards the vending machine "aye Frank you got a dolla on ya?"

"Don't let this happen again Johnny, my personal life is just that, **personal**. If someone asks you something from this moment forward, keep your mouth shut"

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again"

"Better not" Paul said as he grabbed his water bottle and headed over towards the rest of the boys

* * *

"So then he gets blood red and suspends us all, it was crazy"

"I would have kicked you guys out of school too if you trashed my car and office"

"It was a senior prank" Paul laughed

"prank or not, that was wrong" I said shaking my head as I chuckled

"But we talked him out of suspending us so close to graduation"

"how did you do that?"

"We volunteered to clean his pool and cut his grass up until graduation"

I laughed.

"Yeah, Me, Donnie, Chaz, Rico, Frank and Tony were quite the team back then"

"here you are" The waitress said as she sat down our meals "enjoy" she said with a smile as she walked off

"So" Paul said spreading steak sauce on his steak as he begin to cut it "tell me about your high school days" he said as he placed a piece into his mouth

"Oh god" I said as I placed a juicy shrimp into mine "Don't get me started"

"Tell me" he said with a smile

"Well, I wasn't as bad as you guys but I was pretty sassy"

"it's not like that's changed" he teased

"Oh hush" I said taking a sip of my sweet tea "I've just always been vocal, and being my size and all, I felt I always had to fight for myself and speak my mind or else people would run over me. Once they realized I was one of the very few that could be controlled or persuaded by parties and things, people really started to respect me and wanted to be my friend. It's funny how the popular ones were the ones who couldn't get any attention because of the fake fronts they put on, yet the girl that just always stayed true to herself did."

"Well i'm glad you did, there's nothing more sexy than a woman who speaks her mind and loves herself"

"...you think i'm sexy?"

"I think..."

"Don't answer that"

"Why?"

"I don't want to listen to you struggle through a lie"

He laughed. "And what makes you think I was going to tell a lie?"

"Look at me"

"Look at you"

"nothing reads _sexy_ about this body"

"who says it has to do with physical appearance? some men just love a good mind, and i'm one of them."

"well, other than that, what do you look for in a woman? because I find it rather weird that you'd go from a hot babe like Karen to someone like me"

he smirked as he chewed his food. "skinny bitches annoy me"

"Oh my god, you too?" I said getting excited as my eye nearly popped out of their sockets

He covered his mouth as he laughed. "yes, well, most of them. I won't say all of them since I have ran up on some good ones in the past. But the majority act as if the world owes them something for being pretty and fit. And while I do admire a woman that keeps her body in shape, I can't see myself loving someone who always feels that they're entitled to something because they're a size zero."

"where have you been all my life?"

He chuckled. "I don't know, but i'm here now" he said as he reached over and squeezed my hand

I glanced down at it for a second before looking at him.

"What?" he asked

"You promised to answer my question"

"which one?"

"About why you chose me"

"Oh, that one"

"yes,_ that_ one"

"I pretty much told you"

"there's got to be more behind it than me speaking my mind and loving myself"

"well, you're funny, you're beautiful, you don't care what others think and you're just an overall amazing and fun person to be around. I've never been so happy in my life"

"really?"

"Yeah, you truly do make my day better Steph...when you're talking to me at least" he teased

"Hey, that was your own fault"

He smiled. "I know"

I glanced down again, his hand was still lying on top of mine. "One more question" I said as I looked up

"okay"

"what are we?" I said as I raised a brow

He leaned back in his chair and gave that famous smirk of his before saying in low, sexy voice. "Good question, yes...what are we?"

* * *

**Leave Reviews!**

P.s.: Yes, I'm gonna have him answer the question, don't worry lol.


	6. Day 1 is always the hardest

"Hey, I ask the questions around here" I teased as I pulled my hand back

"Oh, do you?"

"yes, yes I do. Now answer mine"

"We are whatever you wa..."

"No" I said cutting him off "you're going to give me an answer and a clear one. No more of these games, you may have time for them, but I don't. So let me know now so I can walk away before anything gets serious." I said taking a sip of my tea.

"okay" he said nodding his head "I think you deserve that"

"I do" I said placing my drink down

"Just let me be honest"

"I like honesty"

"I really like you Stephanie, like I _**really really**_ like you" he said before he took a deep breath. "But believe it or not, i'm afraid of getting hurt"

"By little o'l me?" I said placing my hand on my chest

Paul chuckled. "It's just, when I fall for someone, I fall pretty damn hard and i'm just afraid that if I fall for you that you'll up and leave me one day. So that's why I always avoid the question, I just wanted to know where you stood on this first before I said anything or made any serious moves"

"wow" I said as I took in everything he said "You don't seem like the type to say stuff like that"

"Yeah. I know" he said with a shrug

"But you would never have to worry about a person like me leaving you, getting you would be a hard enough task" I said chuckling

Paul smiled.

"Look, i'm not going to hurt you, I don't want to get hurt either which is why I asked you. I just got out of a relationship not too long ago and it was pure hell and he hurt me really bad, more than words can say. So i'm hesitant in the relationship department too"

"at least we have that in common" he said reaching over and squeezing my hand

"so...you want to give this a try or not?" I said as I looked up nervously

"Well, if we're going to do this, then it needs to be done right, wouldn't you agree?"

"What do you mean?"

"Stephanie" he said grabbing my other hand "will you be my girlfriend?"

"ugh, you're so corny" I said laughing "but yes, yes I will"

A huge smile spread across his face

"You can stop grinning like a cheshire cat anytime now"

Paul chuckled. "sorry, I can't help it, you're just so damn beautiful"

I blushed.

"See" he said pointing at me "and you know it too"

"What will your friends and family think if we make it to that point?"

"They'll love you, my parents aren't the type to judge, if anything, they'll wonder why you chose me"

I laughed. "really?"

"yeah, you'll love my parents, they're fun as hell to be around and they love to embarrass me"

"yep" I said nodding "my type of people"

"I'm sure they are"

"oh, and Paul"

"yes?"

"no more secrets"

He nodded. "agreed, no more secrets" he said as he leaned back in his chair and smirked.

* * *

"So how did everything go?" Josie asked

"It was great, and he even made it official by asking me to be his girlfriend"

Josie's eyes widen "really!?" she squealed

"yes"

"does he have any friends?"

I laughed. "I haven't met them yet, but if they're as good looking as him i'll be sure to hook you up"

"You better"

I glanced over at the table beside my bed as my phone started to ring. I smiled and held up the phone. "speak of the devil" I whispered to her as if he could hear me "hello" I said real sexy like as I answered the phone

"ooooh" Josie teased as she stood up "let me get out of here, before I hear something my ears shouldn't" she said with a smirk as she walked out of the room.

"mmm, what's on your mind?" Paul said as he picked up my tone of voice

"Ohhh, nothing" I teased as I twirled my hair on my finger

"sounds like you're up to something"

"I'm not"

"maybe I should come over and inspect" he said in a flirty tone

"maybe you should" I said in the same tone

Paul smiled. "what are you wearing?" he asked, as his voice went from playful and flirty to deep and serious

"Fat" I said bluntly

He burst out laughing. "come on babe, I thought we were getting somewhere"

"you thought wrong" I said as I laughed before stopping. "Paul" I said in all seriousness

"yes?"

"I want to lose the weight" I said softly

"wow" he said taken aback "not to try and sound surprised but I am, I mean, it's out of the blue and just doesn't sound like you at all if you know what I mean"

"Yeah I know" I said as I laid back against my pillows "i'm just..."

"tell me babe" he said softly

"i'm just tired I guess"

"Tired of what?"

"not being able to do anything, like today for example; Josie and I went shopping and there was so many things I wanted that I knew I couldn't have. I just had to sit back and watch her try on clothes and look at how they fit perfectly and watch her have a good time. I put on a smile so I wouldn't ruin my friend's day with my pity but I was dying on the inside, I always am...it hurts to know i'm like this and can't change...at least not without your help. I know I joke about it a lot, but the small things like that really do get to me" I said softly "You're the only person i've ever told this to, not even Josie. I told you because I know that you're the only one that can help me and because I trust you"

"well, i'm glad you want to do something about it"

"and let me make it clear Paul, i'm doing this for me, not because I think it'll make you more attracted to me or something"

"of course babe, I understand. But i'm telling you it's going to be tough, and you're going to have to put in the work"

"I know...I know" I said softly

"So, when do you want to start?"

"as soon as possible"

"well, I have a meeting tomorrow and I promised my niece I would take her out to lunch the day after, so how about the day after that?"

"awe, thats so sweet and sounds perfect to me"

"great"

I smiled.

"well, I don't want our conversation to end on this note or this quickly for that matter, so let's talk" he said

"what do you want to know?"

"just tell me whats on your mind"

I chuckled. "you better sit back and relax, because this girl can talk her lips off"

"I don't mind, just as long as I get to hear that beautiful voice of yours"

I took a deep breath and just thought to myself._ I don't even deserve you_ I thought as I smiled.

* * *

"Okay, now three more and you'll be finished babe"

"okay" I said as I lifted the curl bar three more times

"annnnd done" Paul said as he grabbed the bar

"woo" I said as I let it go

"You're a natural" he said with a smile

"pfft, i'm struggling over here, I can barely breathe"

He chuckled. "it's always tough the first day"

"so you're saying tomorrow will be easier?"

he laughed. "No….but it won't be as tough as today…so…so I guess…I guess I should have said yes then?" he said as he looked to me for confirmation as he clearly confused himself.

I laughed at the dumbfounded look on his face. "Oh shut up, you're just making this harder for me"

"Well, if you want results, you're going to have to put in the work"

"Yeah, I know, I know" I said dismissing him with my hand

"Hey Paul" Johnny called out

"yeah?"

"there's some stuff for you to fill out and sign up here"

"Alright" Paul said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek and jogged towards the front desk.

I took this time alone to look at myself, to truly look at myself and envision what I wanted to look like. I have no plans to become some zero sized model or anything, I just want to look good and be comfortable. I smiled at that thought and headed over towards the dumbbells because I knew what exercise we were going to do next. I picked up some 10s and began pumping the weights the way Paul told me, he walked me through my workout this morning just incase some customers came in and he would have to run off and help. I was doing fine so far, it was tiring but the thought of what the payoff would be kept me in high hopes. As I placed the weights down and went to grab some heavier ones for my lunges, I saw some skinner girls walk in. It was a group of four, one blonde, one with black hair, a brunette and one with red hair who was wearing a white tank top and shorts and shoes, so she looked like a walking tampon. I thought I heard them say something either to me or about me, but I brushed it off as they weren't close enough and I didn't want to make a scene for nothing. I grabbed my weights and walked towards the end of the gym where Paul told me to start and I began doing my workout. As I got closer to them, I knew for certain that they were definitely talking about me.

"she can try all she wants, it'll never come off" the one with black hair said

"ew, I could never imagine being that fat" the tampon said

"I know, it's disgusting, how does one live like that?" the blonde said

"hey guys, knock it off, at least she is trying, there are plenty of people her size that are sitting on their ass" the brunette said as she began stretching "give her some credit"

"Come on Sarah, she's a human wrecking ball" the black haired said as I could see her pointing towards me out the corner of my eye

"I said knock it off Joanie" Sarah said as she stood up and shot the girl a nasty look.

"Fine, I can't help she's a human whale" Joanie said as she began warming up

"Don't listen to Sarah, Joanie, you can say whatever you want about her because it's true, right carmen?" she said looking at the tampon

"right, Lisa" the tampon said with a nod

"So get off your high horse Sarah, she's a fat bitch and that's all she'll ever be" Joanie said looking at me

"I hope she doesn't eat you" the tampon joked

After that last comment, I dropped the weights and just shot a look over in their way. It wasn't one of disgust or me being pissed and ready to go off, but one of hurt and pain. I felt tears swell in my eyes but I blinked them back and looked down.

"hey, you ready to get started?" Paul said as he jogged back over towards me with a smile on his face which quickly turned to a frown. "You okay?" he said putting his hand on my shoulder.

"yeah, yeah, i'm fine" I said nodding my head "I just need to go to the restroom" I said as I hurried off

For the first time in my life I felt defenseless, usually I would turn around and snatch one of those bitches by their necks and clock them with my right, but today, today was different. It was different because I was actually trying to lose the weight, normally, if I had been eating or being greedy I would have had the confidence to say something, but trying to change my life around and **still** getting judged for it...that hurt, that hurt on a whole other level.

I took the paper towel from the dispenser and wiped the tears from my face, I took a deep breath and checked my face again in the mirror before I walked out. Paul was waiting for me outside the restroom, leaning against the wall, flicking his fingernails. "hey" he said softly as he looked up and smiled. "everything alright?"

"Yeah" I said gently touching his shoulder "I just um, I think i'm going to leave"

"why?" he said as he quickly stood up straight

"just tired" I said as I tried to walk past him

"talk to me baby" he said as he gently grabbed ahold of my shoulders with his hands and turned me around to face him

I sighed. "it's just, i'll...i'll never be them"

"be who?" he said as he furrowed his brow

I pointed to the group of girls

Paul smacked his lips "oh, come on babe. they're nothing, don't let some stuck up bitches get you down."

"But Paul they did, they really really did and it hurt. The things they said...it was...just horrible Paul"

"Do you want me to kick them out? The number one rule on every wall in this gym is 'Be motivators, or get the hell out"

I chuckled.

"No babe, i'm serious, look" he said as he pointed to sign above my head, which I had to step a little further out and look up to see.

The following rules **MUST** be followed in Leveque's Fitness Center:

**1.** Be** Motivators **and help others, **NO** one is to bash, bad mouth or bully anyone in the facility; **AUTOMATIC **discharge from LFC.

**2.** Never give up, when you're feeling down, get back up and try again

**3.** Share the weights and the space

**4.** Guests/Members must know their own physical limits

**5.** Anyone under the age of 16 is **not** allowed to be alone,

**6.** Ages 16 - 17 must have an 18 year old or older present when lifting weights

**7.** No food or drinks permitted outside of the food court

**8.** No running, unless it's on the gym track

**9.** No fighting, yelling or acting like an idiot and **please** wear clothing at all times.

**10.** Why the hell am I explaining this to you? Most of you are adults you should know this - Paul

***Follow** these rules or get the hell out...or **thrown** out, **your** choice.*****

I laughed at the sign. "really Paul? number 10?" I said turning back to face him

"yes, really" he said with a smile "now" He said placing his hands on my waist "we're not gonna let some skinny bitches get in our way, now are we?"

I laughed. "you've been around me way too long"

"I know, i'm starting to talk like you now" he said with a smile "but believe me, I don't mind it" he said as he cupped my face and kissed me before pulling back and looking me in the eyes" you're perfect, and I don't care what anyone else says, you were put on this earth to be _**you** _and no one else, and don't ever let anyone try and tell you different, okay?" he said as he lifted my chin "_okay?_"

I nodded. "Okay" I said with a smile

"good, now let's get back out there and show them whats up"

"alright" I said as I grabbed my training gloves "I better do what number 2 says before I get thrown out"

"I'd never throw you out"

"because you can't, you're strong, but not strong enough to throw this" I said patting my stomach "anywhere"

Paul laughed. "babe, stop"

"I'm sorry" I said as I put on my gloves I headed back towards the weights with Paul when the girl named Sarah ran up to me.

"hey, i'm Sarah" she said softly

"hey" I said looking away

"Listen, it's no secret that those girls are assholes, alright. They shouldn't have said all of those mean things about you"

"it's fine" I said as I was still looking down

"said what things?" Paul questioned as he crossed his arms "because if they..."

"it's okay" I said softly as I cut him off

"They just said some really horrible stuff that I rather not repeat. But I just want you to know that i'm on your side, and if we're in here at the same time one day, don't be afraid to ask me for help"

"thanks" I said, still looking down

"and by the way, they're not my friends."

"they're not?" I said looking up slowly

"oh God no, I could never hang around people whose head is so far up their ass they can't even smell their own shit anymore. My dad does business with their dads and to help him get deals with theirs, I sometimes have to hang out with them from time to time. But they're so stupid that they can't see that I can't stand them."

"Good to know" I said with a smile

Sarah smiled and patted me on the shoulder. "just remember you're everything they're not, you have heart and can do anything you put your mind to. All they know is how to suck a dick" she said before she ran off

Paul and I started laughing. "I like her" Paul said

"Me too" I said nodding "_Sarah_" I said repeating that name "She's alright in my books"

* * *

Leave reviews! :) i'm going to try and either get **If You Only Knew How Much** updated or **Blind Love**, then **Love After War.** :)


	7. New Friends

It's been over a month now that I have been going to the gym every single day, I have to admit it was hard at first but now that I have the hang of it and can do most of the workouts on my own without Paul's help, I feel great. Of course the results are not coming as fast as I would like but I have been able to go down a size in jeans and thats shown me that my hard work is starting to pay off.

"forty-five…forty-six…forty-seven…forty-eight…forty-nine….fifty!" I said as I fell to the mat after doing my push-ups. "woo!" I said as I rolled over and looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey girl!" Sarah said as she walked over

"Hey" I said sitting up

"Done with your workout?"

"Pfft!" I said standing up "I wish! I have another set to do on the machines and then some more cardio"

"Ah, that's not too bad" she said with a smile as she put on her fingerless gloves and began stretching "I just got here about ten minutes ago"

"Oh really? where were you? I didn't see you come in" I said as I took a swig of my water, enjoying the way the icy liquid soothed the dryness of my throat

"I was sitting in the car contemplating coming in here" she said with a small chuckle

I laughed. "I know the feeling, everyday I pull up at this place and I wonder if it's worth it, but i'm getting some results and i've found that it actually is worth it. I guess busting your ass day in and day out really does pay off in the end"

"It does" she said as she continued stretching

"Well, I'll catch up with you later I'm going to go finish up"

"alrighty, i'll see you before you leave."

* * *

"Oh my god Karen would you just let it go already?" Paul said as he rolled his eyes and placed his hand on top of his forehead. I watched as he remained like that for a few more seconds before he started to pace the gym floor back and forth. "we've been through this a million times just…but I…Karen….my god would you let me talk!? damn!" he said as he looked up and saw his customers staring at him. He shook his head and then went into his office and shut the door. I would have followed suit but it was none of my business, we've been dating for a little bit but not long enough for me to get into his personal business, at least that's how I feel about it.

I walked over to the counter and smiled at Johnny. "hey"

"hey" he said with a smile

"do they always fight like that?"

Johnny's smile soon faded and he looked down.

"I promise I won't tell, it's just i'm curious, i'm new to this whole dating a guy with a 'baby mama' type of thing and I just want to know what i'm getting myself into that's all"

"It's not my place to tell you that Stephanie" he said softly "it really isn't"

"look" I said reaching over and squeezing his shoulder gently "you can trust me, I won't tell. It's just I was upset that I found out that he had a wife and a kid through.."

"me" he said cutting me off

"well it was just the fact that at that particular time I thought he was leading me on and that was important information that I needed to know that's all. But in my defense, I never told him you were the one that told me, you told on yourself."

"that's true, but only because I thought you knew and i'm not making the mistake of assuming you know things that you don't ever again and that includes this"

I smiled. "well I understand and i'm not going to force you into telling me anything that you don't want to, I wouldn't want you to lose your job over some silly gossip, I would feel horrible."

"thanks Steph, you really are a nice girl and I hope he keeps you around for the long haul."

I smiled again. "Thank you"

"But I will tell you this, I know you're not one to back down but Karen can get pretty feisty at times and she's been known to hold Carter over Paul's head. So when she starts to get a little sassy just walk away or ignore her instead of taking her head on because you won't win. At the end of the day Paul is going to choose his son over any woman he dates and i'm telling you that from seeing it first hand. And also because if you get the upper hand on her in an argument, which I know you will, it'll piss her off and she'll threaten to take Carter from him unless he dumps you. Trust me, I've seen it before and he **always** chooses his kid, I don't want him to lose you over that bitch, you're a great girl and she only holds him back. Just show you're the bigger person and…well…um…I'm…" he said as he closed his eyes and placed his hands on top of his head. "shit"

I burst out laughing. "It's okay, I know, no pun intended, but hey it's true, I'm literally the bigger person" I said as I patted his hand gently

He let out a deep breath. "thank god you have a sense of humor" he said shaking his head "but as I was saying just by you walking away and ignoring her it'll show Paul that you're.."

"the bigger person" I teased as I cut him off.

He blushed. "that you're more mature" he said with a smirk "and it'll make him fight for you. If you cause just as much drama as she does then he'll see no reason in keeping you around. I know this is pretty much common sense to you but I just thought I'd give you a small warning ahead of time because she **will** try to provoke you. She just wants to know how far she can go before everything blows over, but by showing her you're unbothered it will kill her."

"Thanks Johnny" I said grabbing my gloves off the counter "I appreciate it"

"and if Paul asks…"

"I didn't hear it from you" I said as I winked at him and walked over to get my gym bag. As I bent down to get it, I saw Paul walk out of his office. He spoke to a customer for a few minutes before he walked over to me. "hey, what was all that about?"

"what?"

"the phone"

He rolled his eyes. "I don't even want to get into it I…never mind" Paul said as he shook his head and walked away

"Well jeez, I didn't do it" I said to myself as I picked up my bag

"hey!" Sarah said as she seemed to appear out of nowhere

"hey you" I said as I stood up and placed the strap on my shoulder

"about to head out of here?"

"Yeah, i'm done for the day but i'll be back tomorrow"

"Well," Sarah said wrapping her arm around my shoulder "before ya leave, I want to introduce you to some of my friends, my_** real**_ friends and not the girls who were here with me the last time"

"the skinny bitches?"

Sarah chuckled. "Yes"

As I walked over with Sarah I saw two girls, they didn't look like they were being very friendly to one another, as a matter of fact I think they were arguing.

"I said one bite! give it back"

"No!"

"For the love of God! it's **my** toffee crisp!"

"And this is my hand, which is holding it, that is about to put it in my mouth, what cha gonna do about it?"

"Bampot"

"what?"

"don't worry about it" the girl said turning towards us "Hey sarah, who is this?" she said motioning towards me

"This is Stephanie, Stephanie these are my friends, Chloe and Jasmine, or Jas for short. Jas is the funny one, will literally have you rolling around on the floor when she gets on a roll, and Chloe is mean. That is all."

"I am not!" Chloe shouted

"Yaaaah, you are" Jas agreed

"Shut up, that's why I can smell ye clag-tail from over here"

"what the hell does that mean?" I asked

"I don't know" Sarah said with a shrug "when she gets mad at us, she insults us with Scottish terms because she knows we have no idea what it means."

"Ignore them Steph, they're just twa bubbles aff the centre" Chloe said with a casual shrug

"SPEAK ENGLISH!" Jas yelled out

"Oh, shut ye geggie" Chloe said as she rolled her eyes

"I don't understand Scottish, but i'm pretty confident in saying I believe that means shut up"

"Finally, a smart person I can converse with" Chloe said motioning towards me

I smiled.

"So Stephanie, what are you doing later on? if you're not busy you can hang with us" Jas offered

"Great, i'm free. I was just going to go back to my place anyway."

"Cool, we can all go to this new bar that just opened in town not too far away from here, I heard the food and entertainment is great" Sarah said

"We're entertaining enough, don't you think so Chloe?" Jas asked

"Yeah, who says we need to go to some fancy bar to get a good laugh or have a good time?"

"I can definitely be the entertainment, hey steph…do you like jokes?" Jas asked

"Oh god, PLEASE don't! we just met the girl and you're already trying to scare her away" Chloe said

"how so?" Jas asked

"I know turtles with funnier jokes than you Jas." Sarah chipped in

"Lies, hey Steph listen to this one you're gonna love it…why was Cinderella bad at soccer?"

"Oh god" Sarah said rolling her eyes

"Because her coach was a pumpkin!" Jas said as she slapped her knee and began to laugh

"Fucking Americans" Chloe said as she shook her head

"I'd be lying if I said I understood that" I said looking at her

"Oh come on! it's a classic, it's okay though, I have more" Jas said grinning from ear to ear

"That's fine" I said quickly holding my hands out in front of me "save them for later"

"you're right, you're right" she said nodding her head "save the best for last." She said with a smile that quickly faded "heyyy, where's my…"

"You mean **my** toffee crips, oh it's right here" Chloe said with a menacing grin before she took a huge bite.

I looked at the girls and smiled, I could already tell from this small encounter that I was really going to like them, I could see myself being friends with them or at least good workout buddies or something. They were very nice and inviting and I could tell Jas was going to be the 'class clown' of the group while Chloe would probably be the troublemaker that always had something smart to say or did things to purposely annoy Jas which left Sarah in the mother role to get them in check every now and then. Yes, this was going to work out just fine.

"Hey Steph, is there a reason why you're staring at us like that?" Sarah asked

"maybe she's crazy or something" Chloe said

"Chloe!" Sarah hissed

"Whaaat? we just met her I don't know her motives"

I smiled.

"see, I just called her crazy and she smiled, only crazy people approve of their own ways" Chloe said pointing at me

"Chloe stop it!" Sarah said, her voice deepening

"Ugh," Chloe said rolling her eyes, "you're not my mom! Damn Americans, I get so sick of ye ginky, honkin, oof-lookin, plookie plugged…" Chloe's insults faded as she walked down the hallway and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm so sorry about that" Sarah said softly "Chloe is well…. she's Chloe"

I smiled. "It's okay, I like her. I can tell she's the type that you have to get used to and will grow on you over time."

"Yes" Sarah said nodding

"Time?" Jas said looking up "Did someone say time?"

"No" Sarah answered quickly

"Wanna hear my joke about clocks?"

"No, no we don't" Sarah said cutting her eyes at Jas

I chuckled. "And Chloe called me crazy"

"Hey, speaking of crazy, you wanna hear a joke about OJ Simpson!?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Oh god, not that one again"

I smiled. "Fire away" I said as I sat down and listened

* * *

"I mean, I want you to have a good time and everything, I just wish it was us going out tonight, ya know?"

"I know" I said as I brushed my hair

"who are these girls anyway?" Paul asked as he sat on my bed.

"Remember Sarah?"

"Yeah, she was the really sweet one that came up to you a while back. What about her?"

"well it's her and two of her friends that i'm going out with, Chloe and Jasmine"

"Oh, how are they?"

"they're awesome, Chloe is a little troublemaker but she's cool, and Jas is a horrible comedian"

Paul chuckled. "How horrible?"

I rolled my eyes. "please don't make me repeat any of her jokes."

Paul smiled. "well i'm glad to see that you're making friends at the gym, it'll make working out a lot more easier and fun."

"Until I get into mad shape, I doubt i'll ever view working out as fun or easy"

Paul stood up and walked over to me with a smile. "You just have to get used to it that's all." he said as he rubbed my shoulders. I loved looking into his little turtle brown eyes, they were so comforting and inviting. They always had a small sparkle in the corner of them and that made me happy. "Well, I guess I better get going, we can always have a movie night some other time right?"

"yeah" I said looking at him "i'm sorry you came all the way over here for nothing."

"Nah, I got to my girl and that was well worth the trip." I smiled and held my head down, I didn't want him to see me grinning like a cheshire cat over here. "Hey, I meant to ask you something earlier"

"yes?" I said looking up at him, still feeling the hard blush that burned deep into my cheeks

"Why did you up and leave me at the gym today without saying a word? did I make you upset?"

"No"

"Then why didn't you tell me you were leaving, I got a little worried"

"I'm sorry, I just thought you wanted to be alone after your talk with Karen because when I asked you earlier you dismissed it and I didn't want to bring it up again."

"Oh, sorry about that. She just always puts me in a bad mood and I didn't want to bring that sort of negativity around you that's all. That and I wasn't thinking very straight at the moment and I didn't want to end up saying anything rude as I have been known to do that from time to time after I get through talking to her."

"It's okay, we're cool. Just give a little bit of a heads up next time."

"I will" he said as he kissed the top of my forehead "you look beautiful tonight, too beautiful, Imma need for you to put on something else, can't have the guys hitting on ya"

I chuckled. "Yeah right!" I said playfully hitting his chest. "And besides i'm not even dressed up"

"I know, but your beauty far outweighs your style…i'm sorry, that came out wrong"

I shook my head. "You guys kill me over thinking every little word you say" I said poking him in the chest with my finger.

"I'm sorry"

"It's okay"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

"Well, sorry for…"

"If you apologize one more time."

"I'm..I…okay."

I shook my head again and sighed. "what am I gonna do with you?"

Without hesitation Paul moved in, and his mouth consumed mine. Our mouths collided, meeting in the middle. His tongue swept out against my lips and I let him in. He filled my mouth as his hands shamelessly roamed over my body. As I stood there and wrapped my arms around him, I couldn't believe that this was actually happening, like I could but then again I couldn't, you know that feeling you get that you can't explain? well this was it. Paul and I had kissed before but it was always quick or if it was longer it wasn't as in depth as this one. This one made me feel a connection to him like no other and it was taking all I had inside of me not to pick his ass up and throw him on the bed…you know damn well I could do it. But anyway, this moment was just so surreal, so indescribable, it was making me rethink going out with the girls tonight, we could always find another time to hang out but who knows when another moment like this would arise again? Paul slowly pulled back and looked me in the eyes, he brought his left hand, the one that was running through my hair, earlier to my face and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. His glaze was warm and gentle and it made me smile which made him smile in return. "if you were staying here tonight you could have gotten more, but I don't want you to be late"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Please don't tease me like that" I said as I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him closer

"Who said I was teasing?" he whispered in my ear which sent chills down my spine. "But you enjoy your night" he said as he lifted his lips from my ear. "Call me when you get ready to head back home, I want to make sure you get back here safe"

"okay, I will" I said softly as I let go off him.

"Alright" he said placing one last kiss to my lips. "Bye baby girl" he said as he turned and walked out of my bedroom door.

"Bye" I said softly, as I walked over and sat on my bed staring at the door, wanting to run out and chase the man who just left. All I wanted was for him to take me right here, right now, do whatever he wanted, no holds barred, anything goes. But here I am letting him walk out so I can go hang with these chicks I just met. "Ugh" I said as I stood up and walked over to the mirror. "Jas you better have a damn good joke tonight, because i'm giving up a god for you!"

* * *

If you're still enjoying this story, leave reviews! :D

P.S. If none of the Chloe, Jas or Sarah stuff makes sense to you, it's because its all an inside joke between me and my girls. We rock *Does DX crotch Chop*

**Double P.S.** There are **two** stories in particular that haven't been updated in a LONG time and I think you know what they are. *evil grin* If I were you I would get aquatinted with them again because one of them will be your christmas present, the questions is, which one? Byyyye!


	8. An unexpected return

**READ:** I'm baaaaack! *evil grin* I had to update this story before my friends killed me, **you know who you are.** But like I said, i'm going to do one story at a time instead of trying to update multiple ones at once. I said in** Blind Love** that I would finish that one first, but I'm actually going to finish this one first since I started it over a year ago lol, it deserves to be finished. So i'm going to update this, update **Love After War**, and after that it will be nothing but updates on this story until it's finished. :)

**P.S.** You also might want to catch up on the other 7 chapters so nothing or no one in this chapter confuses you.

* * *

"So two fish are in a tank right"

"Oh god, Jas please not another joke" Sarah said as she took a sip from her drink

"And one turns to the other and asks, 'how do you drive this thing?'" Jas slapped her knee as she rocked back in the booth laughing.

"That one was funny" I said as I gave Jas a high five.

"thank you Steph, thank you, I appreciate it when people recognize real comedy" Jas said as she walked over to the bar to get a refill

"Then she needs to get her ears checked" Chloe muttered "Where the hell are my hot wings?"

"Chloe" Sarah said looking at her "you literally ordered them five minutes ago"

"Oh," she said as she looked at the time on her phone "time seems to go by slower when you're hungry"

"I can agree to that" I said nodding my head

"guys" Jas said when she returned

"Yes, Jas" Sarah answered

"Why can't a bike stand on its own?"

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"why?" I asked, knowing it would annoy them.

"Because it's _two_ tired!"

I laughed. "Another good one"

"thank you, thank you" Jas said smling

"How did she think of that bullshit between walking from here, to there?" Chloe asked herself

"Please do not cheer her on Stephanie, please" Sarah begged "we can't take it anymore"

"You guys should be used to this by now" Jas said

"And thats the sad part! we should, we really really should!" Sarah said

"But we're not, so knock it off ye bassa"

"English" Jas said looking at me "why is that so hard for her?" she said raising up the palm of her hand

"I'll show you English you.."

"stop it you two" Sarah said

"She started it" Jas said pointing to Chloe

"Shut yer pus"

"shut my what!?" Jas said as she placed her hand over her chest.

"I don't think it means what you think it means Jas" I said as smiled at the two

"It better not, because that would just be... weird."

"even for you Jas?" Sarah asked

"Yes, even for me"

"Excuse me" Chloe said as the waiter walked by "But when will the hot wings be ready?"

"about another 10 minutes ma'am"

"TEN MINUTES!"

"Chloe! calm down" Sarah said

"Sorry" she said to the waiter "I'm just really hungry"

He smiled. "That's okay" he said as he walked away

"Ugh, you americans, it takes years to fix the food"

"Why do you live here if you hate it so much?" Jas asked

"Great question" Sarah agreed

"Don't worry about why i'm here, just know that I am and that you two would be nothing without me, oh, and sooner or later you'll be nothing without me as well Stephanie" she said with a smile to which I smiled back.

"Oh shoot, what time is it? I forgot I have to make a phone call" Sarah said as she started searching for her phone

"did somebody say time?" Jas asked

"God, no, please make it stop" Chloe said as she started to bang her head against the table.

"take it away Jas!" I said as I threw my arms in the air.

The night went on and I was having a blast with the girls, I got to know more about them as they did me. It was entertaining to watch Chloe go back and forth with her friends and with Jas throwing in the occasional horrible joke here and there, all and all this was turning out to be a great night. Still, I wish I was with Paul after he left my entire body tingling after that kiss, but I wasn't going to let that stop my night. This was the most fun I have had in a while, at least that's how it seemed to be until someone I was not expecting came through the door.

"So what do you do when you have a fish and a hamster sword fighting?" Jas asked

"oh my god" I said as I face palmed myself "How do you even put those two together?"

"Please don't question her Steph, I do not want to listen to her go into deep detail with these things, I get enough torture on a day to day basis" Sarah said as she sipped on her drink.

"Damn these wings were good" Chloe said as she sucked her fingers clean

"I'll say, you missed half the conversation" I said watching her

"Jas was speaking, so that tells you I missed nothing at all"

"Okay, rude" Jas said looking over at her.

I was about to say something until I glanced over at the door and my entire body went numb and my mind went blank. I couldn't believe that it was him, it was actually him. I hadn't seen him in over two years and yet he still had the same effect on me, and it was not a good one. He walked in with some friends, he was wearing black boots and black jeans and a black leather jacket with a white tank top on underneath that showed the imprints of his abs whenever he took a step. His look had also been altered a bit from the last time I saw him. He no longer had a buzz cut but had grown it out and rocked a spiky combover, he also changed the color of his hair from blonde to a dark brown with highlights. He had also grown a beard, not a full blown one, but one that was scruffy but it was shaped very nicely and outlined his jaw perfectly; and his blue eyes shined bright whenever the club's lights hit them. But if it's one thing I noticed about him more than anything, it was his scar, the scar that started from the tip of his eyebrow and went on up in a slanted position until it faded into his hair, maybe that's the reason he grew it out so it wouldn't show as much. But I knew how far it went, how, because **i'm** the one that put it there. I'll never forget the night I finally had enough of his abuse and stuck up for myself and smashed him in the face repeatedly with a lamp. I can still hear him screaming out as the glass shattered across his face and him screaming out my name as I shot out of the door running as fast as I could. That was the last time I thought I would ever see him again, and it was…until now.

"Eric" I muttered to myself

"Steph, you okay? Sarah asked as she tapped me on the shoulder

"see" Chloe said eating her fries "told you she was crazy"

"steph" Jas said softly

"…..Steph?" Chloe repeated as she now became concerned

"I'm sorry" I said as I finally snapped out of my daze. "Um, it's been fun guys it really has, and i've enjoyed you all and thank you so much for the wonderful time but I really have to go"

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked with a confused look on her face

"I…I just have to go, that's all" I said as I placed a few bills on the table to pay for my meal

"Stephanie, if you need our help, let us know" Sarah said placing her hand on my shoulder "It's no big deal, really"

I forced a smile. "Thanks" I said as I quickly hurried out the other way.

"Wow, I wonder what's wrong, she was so quick to leave" Chloe said

"I know, I mean one minute she was fine and the next….she's a ghost" Sarah added

"I really would like to know what's going on"Chloe said as she pursed her lips to the side, trying to figure it out

"Me too" Sarah agreed as she looked at Chloe "Well, whatever it was, hopefully she'll tell us if she shows up at the gym the tomorrow"

"Yeah, hopefully. Man I wish I knew what it was" Chloe said as she shook her head

"It wasn't my jokes was it?"

"Shut up Jas" the girls said in unison as they looked over at her before changing the subject to something else

* * *

Sorry that it's a little short but it's 4:30 in the morning lol. Plus, more will come once I get **Love After War** updated. :)


	9. I love a man who takes charge

Yeah, I know I was supposed to update **Love After War** first, but honestly, who gives a shit? lol, this stuff just came to my mind first.

**P.S.** My buddy Chloe gave me a great idea about Steph, if you want to imagine what she looks like in this story, just think of Rebel Wilson lol.

* * *

I wasn't able to sleep much at all last night after I left the club, just seeing Eric all over again made everything come rushing back into my mind. All the good and bad memories, but mostly the bad. I just couldn't believe that he had managed to sneak his way back into my life again, I mean, even though he didn't see me, or at least I hope he didn't, a part of me just felt like in that one moment all the time I spent building my confidence back up, and working on myself had went all out the window. Nonetheless, I still showed up to the gym today, I knew that if I didn't come Paul would probably be concerned and would blow my phone up all day or would stop by and I was in no mood to talk about it. If the girls are here, I know for a fact that they are going to have a million questions and I've already prepared for that, my answer is going to be short and sweet and to the point and i'll try to convey it in the nicest of ways, but at the end of the day it's just none of their business and I don't feel like discussing it. I just hope that they can understand that and it won't cause a rift in the friendship that we have begun to have.

After I finished signing in and I did my warm-ups, I walked over to the where the weights were and picked up some dumbbells, before I could start on my workout, I heard my named called out.

"shit" I said to myself as I turned around and forced a smile. "Hey"

"How are you?" Jas asked as she smiled at me

"I'm fine, how about you?"

"I'm good, I just wanted to check on you after last night and all…."

"Oh, sorry about that, it's all good"

"Good to hear" she said with a smile "But you know if you ever want to talk, i'm here, I mean I know we just met, but i'm here."

"Thanks" I said smiling

"But be prepared to get questioned by those two, i'm not as nosy as they are"

I chuckled. "I figured, when you're not telling jokes I can tell you're actually very level headed, they don't give you much credit for it."

"It's because i'm usually trying to soften the moment, Sarah is always playing mother and Chloe is like the rude step child that no one likes, but tolerates."

I laughed. "Oh you guys love Chloe"

"We do…sometimes" she said as she smirked

"Hey guys" Sarah said as she walked over with Chloe next to her

"speak of the devils" Jas said as she patted me on the shoulder and walked away

"What is she talking about?" Chloe asked

"Oh nothing" I said as I sat down on the bench

"Hey, are you okay? you know, after last night and everything" Sarah asked

"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing" Chloe added

"I'm fine" I said as I began my workout

"are you sure? I mean you lefty pretty quickly" Sarah added

"Yeah, I mean we didn't even have time to.."

"She said she's fine" Jas said as she walked back over carrying a gatorade "stop being so nosy, if she said she's alright, then she's alright, she'll talk if she wants to." she said taking a sip "now lets begin our workouts.

"what crawled up your ass today?" Chloe asked as she started walking towards the vending machine

"Yeah, isn't that my role you're taking?" Sarah asked while she went to grab her a set of dumbbells

"thank you" I mouthed to Jas with a smile

"Don't mention it" she whispered as she patted me on the shoulder once again and walked off towards Chloe

* * *

I was ending my workout when I saw Paul walking over towards me, I bet he wanted to know what was up with me all day since I was very distant and barely talked to him when I did see him. I didn't fell like arguing or even trying to explain my situation at the moment, but I also didn't want him to feel as if I was angry at him for something he did not do. I guess I was just going to have to suck it up and face him at the end of it, but he was not the type to give up on getting any sort of information that he wanted.

"So" he said as he walked over and leaned against the vending machine "Is there something I should be concerned about?"

I grabbed the water bottle that fell out and then I looked up at him and smiled. "Nope, why?"

"Well," he said taking the water from me and opening it before handing it back to me "You've been both distant and quiet with me today"

"Thanks" I said as I swallowed the icy clear liquid, "and i'm sorry, I've just been a little zoned out today thats all" I said placing the cap back on.

"Are you sure?" he said looking into my eyes

"Yes" I said nodding my head "I get that way sometimes" I lied. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you today was one of those days"

He furrowed his brows and looked at me for a minute before speaking. "I'm not sure if I fully believe you, but i'm going to take your word for it" he said as he lowered his head and kissed my cheek. "Just as long as were good"

"We're great" I said with a smile before I picked up my gym bag

"Here" he said taking it from me "let me grab that for you"

"thanks" I said as we walked outside to my car

"How was your workout?" he asked as he placed my bag in the backseat

"It was good"

"You seemed a little off balance today"

"Like I said I was little zoned out but...heyyy, were you watching me?" I said as I changed my tone to a flirty one

He smirked. "I'm _always_ watching you" he said as he closed the door.

"Because that's not creepy at all" I teased

He shrugged. "Well, I gotta keep an eye out for what's mine"

_Mine._ I repeated in my head.

"what cha over there smiling about?" he teased as he pinched my cheek

I playfully slapped his hand away. "Oh, nothing"

"Hey, are you going to be busy tomorrow?"

"Not that I know of, why?"

"A guy can't ask his girl if she's busy?" he asked as he spread his arms out

I chuckled. "Of course you can" I said as I stood up on my tip toes and kissed his lips.

"Now that's more like it" he said as he winked at me "But anyways, I just want to hang out. My place probably wouldn't be the best since I have some stuff going on at the moment, but I would love to come over to yours."

"That's fine" I said as I opened the car door and got inside. "Just let me know a time, do I need to cook or anything?"

"We can go out for a bite to eat first and then just chill over at your place"

"Alrighty" I said as I put the key in the ignition and started the car

"I'll call you tonight, baby" he said as he lowered himself and placed a lingering kiss to my lips before shutting the door and jogging off towards the gym.

* * *

"Oh my god! so what did you do?"

"I just left some money on the table and left"

"I can't believe you're just now tell me this! oh my god that bastard better be glad I wasn't with you, I would have walked up to him and beat the hell out of him"

"It's okay, Josie…really"

"No it's not Steph, this man caused you a lot of pain and as your best friend it's my job to beat the fuck out of him on sight"

I chuckled. "Thanks, but it's okay. Besides, that part of my life is over now and I just want to move forward"

"Well, if you're happy, then I'm happy."

I smiled. "Thanks Jo, I love you"

"I love you, too"

Just then I heard a knock on the door. "Oh, that must be Paul"

"oooooooh" she teased. "Its about to go down"

I chuckled. "Oh hush, i'll call you tomorrow"

"alrighty, goodnight" she said before she hung up. I placed the phone back on it's holder and then I walked out of my bedroom and up to the front door. I briefly checked myself out in the mirror before opening the door but there wasn't much to see. I had on some jogging pants, a green t-shirt and my hair was in a low ponytail.

"Hey, you" I said as I opened the door

"Hey, baby" he said as he stepped in and gave me a kiss on the lips. "These are for you"

I smiled. "Thanks" I said as I grabbed the flowers "what are they for?"

He shrugged. "I just saw them on the way over and thought you'd like them"

"Thanks" I said smelling them "But, you know I'm not a flower type girl, right?"

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Just accept the damn present" he said as he playfully nudged me and walked into the living room while I went off to place them in water. "What movie are we watching?" he called out.

"ummmm" I said as I started searching for a vase "doesn't matter" I answered back

"hmm, this looks boring, that looks boring, I know for a fact that that is boring" I heard him say as I walked into the living room and saw him scanning for movies on netflix.

"Having a hard time champ?" I asked as I sat down on the couch next to him

"There's just nothing good on here" he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I'm not much of a movie person anyway so I never know what's showing"

"Well...we could just talk if you wanted"

He looked at me and then back to the tv before turning it off. "I'd love that" he said as he turned and faced me. "Would love to know what's going on in that head of yours."

I smiled. "Not as much as you think" he lifted his brows at me saying this. "There's nothing to keep in because I let it all out" I said chuckling "I'm pretty much an open book."

"I don't believe that"

"Why not?"

"There's a certain mystery about you"

"There is?"

"Yes, I feel like there's things about you that you're hiding from me, not anything bad, but just stuff a boyfriend would like to know, ya know?"

I nodded. "Well, ask away"

He perked up. "So nothing is off the table?"

"Nothing"

"Alright!" he said as he smacked his hands together and rubbed them "hmmm, what should I ask?" he said as he patted his chin with his index finger "so many questions."

I laughed. "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

"Nope" he said before his beautiful smile faded into an evil grin "Let's begin"

More than two hours had passed and I don't think either of us noticed nor cared, we just talked and laughed, and talked some more. It was nice getting to know Paul more. The more he spoke, the more of a softie I realized he really was. I could also tell by the way the tone of his voice would change when he spoke of his son how much he really loved him. It just made me imagine what it would be like to be married and to have a family with someone as loving as him, well not someone like him, him in general. He just had this certain "thing" about him and I couldn't wait to get to learn more about him.

"But enough about me" Paul said as he smiled at me. "tell me more about yourself"

"I think i've pretty much hit on everything that there is"

"Well, how about your past boyfriends that's something we skipped over earlier" I became extremely quiet and just held my head down and began to play with my fingers. "You alright?" he asked as he placed his hand on my back "I mean, if you don't want to talk about then, then we don't have to babe"

I forced a smile as I looked up at him. "I'm not trying to hide anything, its just, I'd prefer to wait a while to talk about that if you don't mind"

"No problem" he said rubbing my back "anything else that you'd like to know about me?"

"Can I ask about Karen?"

"Sure"

"Was she always a bitch?"

He laughed at my bluntness. "Well, believe it or not, no actually."

"what happened?"

"You tell me" he said as he shrugged. "One day she was the nicest person I ever met and the next she was this demon bitch from hell, it all happened so suddenly. I mean, I started to notice a few changes here and there but you know us men, we tend to ignore the signs and before I knew it, everything was just going down hill."

"How did the two of you meet?"

"Through a mutual friend"

"Do you regret it?"

"Not really, like I said it was great until she changed and if I hadn't have met her, then I wouldn't have Carter."

"Do you ever wish you could go back and change things?"

"sometimes, but I think the end result would have been the same with us breaking up"

"Because of her cheating?"

"Nope, I was able to get over that, I just couldn't get over the person that she had become...please never change" He said as he looked at me

I smiled. "I won't, i'll always be blunt as ever"

"Good" he said as he leaned in towards me and gave me a quick kiss "Because I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost this side of you"

"Most men can't handle it" I teased

"Well, I'm not most men" he said rubbing my back

"You're a big softie, I know that"

"Doesn't mean I can't handle you in _every_ way possible"

At that, my entire body tensed up, I couldn't help the blush that ran across my face, and the way he stared into my eyes made me start to tingle. God what I would do to find out what he meant by that, I mean I had a pretty good idea of what he meant, but the way he said it just...it just sent damn chills down my spine. And it didn't help that he lowered his hand from my back and started rubbing my thigh. I was on fire, this man was going to kill me and he didn't even know the affects that his touch currently had on me. One more stroke on my thigh or another sparkle in his eye and I would not be responsible for what I'd do next.

"babe, you okay?" he asked as he noticed my blank stare, I said nothing as I nodded. I couldn't help it, all I could do was stare at his lips as he begin to speak again, I couldn't hear a single word that was coming out of his mouth.

_His lips. His teeth. His smile. His laugh. His face. His Body...everything is just so damn perfect._ I thought to myself as I licked my lips.

"And then I told him, either you will or you won't" Paul said as he started to laugh "greatest day of my life..ba..babe?" he said as he finally realized that I was not paying attention to him this whole time.

"huh?" I said as I finally snapped back into reality.

"did you hear my story?"

"Yes" I lied as I begin to fan myself with a magazine off of the coffee table

"You're hot? do you want me to turn the fan up?" he said as he looked up at the ceiling fan that was above us.

"that won't help" I said to myself

"Huh?"

"Nothing" I said as I smiled. "Soooo..." I said as I played with his hair "What now?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter"

_Oh yes it does._ I thought

"It's all up to you" he said as he too, began to play with my hair.

"Don't copy me" I teased

"Fine, I'll do something else then" he said as he scooted closer

"and whats that?" I asked in a flirty tone

"This" There was no pause, no decision to be made, no slow approach. Paul moved in, and his mouth consumed mine. He tasted like mint…and something sweeter, darker. His tongue swept out against my lips and I let him in, _begged_ him in. He filled my mouth, stroking the most sensitive spots and retreating only to return. I couldn't hold back the moan that escaped as his mouth slanted over mine again. I arched into him, bringing my breasts in contact with his chest, and he made a sound like a growl. It was a heady feeling, that power, and I knew I would do whatever I needed to hear it again. I scooted even closer to him as our tongues twirled around like tornadoes, and when I moved I could feel the heaping puddle of wetness that I was currently sitting in. _**He. had. me. drenched!**_ No other man was ever able to get me this hot and wet before, not even Eric. But Paul, Paul had something about him that just instantly turned me on and it didn't even take him much effort. My nipples harden like pearls against his chest and I moaned when he lifted his hand and squeezed my one of my breasts.

_Oh, God, please don't stop._ I thought to myself, I was enjoying this moment far too much to let anything come between it. He was being gentle in his touch, but a part of me wanted him to be rougher, to just throw me down and take me at his will. I was more than willing to do whatever he asked and I mean **whatever**. In this moment, in this hot and heated battle of pleasure, **nothing** was off limits.

"I want you" I whispered in a husky tone as my hand dipped lower and grabbed his erect member. _God, it's bigger than I thought._ "Mmm" I moaned into his mouth as I squeezed him through his pants which made him squeeze his eyes together and grunt.

"I want you, too" he said as he pulled back and started kissing my neck, only sending me further up the wall when I felt his tongue flick out and twirl, hitting my spot, making me moan instantly.

"mmmmm" I moaned as I bit down on my lip and gripped his hair with one hand. "Take me" I whispered as I squeezed the tip of his engorged member with my other. "Take me now" I demanded as I squeezed harder. This time to my surprise he pulled back and just stared at me. "What's wrong?" I asked

"We can't do this," he whispered. He released his hold on me and exhaled as he ran his fingers through his once straight and perfect, but now disheveled hair. His gaze returned, capturing mine and riddled with regret. "Believe me, Stephanie, as much as I want to, I've learned the hard way to take things slow. I should have never started this, I'm sorry."

I said nothing as I just stared at him with my head tilted and this blank look on my face. I was not only heartbroken, but embarrassed. I felt that by me offering to give myself to him so soon, it might have turned him off. Or maybe he simply didn't want me and was just trying to be nice about it. I mean, I know i'm no supermodel but I thought he didn't care about looks, or at least that's how he always made me feel. Now here I am being rejected. _Take things slow? what are we in high school?_ I thought to myself. No, there's much more to this, I'll just come to face the fact that he does not want me, at least not in that manner, at least not now because of my size. That's the only logical explanation that I can think of, had I been some hot blonde model or brunette like Karen, i'm sure he'd be all over me by now. What is the problem?...what is the problem?

"Steph...babe?" he said as he squeezed my shoulder. Once again, I said nothing as I simply stood up and walked towards the door. "Babe..." he said as he got up and followed behind. Once I got to the door I took his jacket off the coat rack and handed it to him and opened the door. "Steph..." he said as he looked down at his jacket and then at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"It's time for you to go" I finally said as I looked away, refusing to meet his glaze.

"Steph..." he started to say before I interrupted.

"Just go" I said as I brushed past him but he grabbed my arm. "Let me go" I said, still refusing to look at him.

"Baby, just let me explain"

"What is there to explain?" I snapped as I turned around and looked at him. "I offered myself to you and you rejected me, I knew it, I fucking knew it. You never wanted me, did you? this was probably some sick joke between you and some friends or Karen" I said as I angrily swiped away the tears that fell.

At this Paul slung his jacket hard against the wall, "I'm going to nip this shit in the bud right now before it even starts." He said as he walked up to me, gripped me by both arms and pinned me against the wall. "Now you listen and you listen good" he said, his whole demeanor changing. "This is **not** a joke, and I don't appreciate you treating me as if I'm some sort of player. Now I didn't want to do this because I felt **I** would be rushing you too fast and in the end you would regret it and I couldn't bear the thought of that. Second of fucking all, nobody and I mean **nobody** has any say in this relationship but **you **and** I**, not my friends and definitely not Karen, and don't you forget it. Third of all, I **do** want you, I want you more than I have ever wanted any fucking body Stephanie, but I also know that I want to get to know _**you**_ first before I get to know your body. This has nothing to do with your looks, you are fucking beautiful and I am more than blessed to have you apart of my life. I chose not to take that next step because I value what we have now more than the physical connection that we just created."

_Damn._ I thought to myself. Just when I thought my panties couldn't become any more soaked, he goes and says this. I mean, a man taking control is the sexiest thing in the world. But he's not helping, he's only making this worse because now I want him even more.

"Are you listening to me?" he asked, his voice getting even deeper. I guessed he noticed I had zoned out yet again.

I just stood there with my shoulders pressed against the wall and nodded my head.

"You better be" he said as he backed away from me "Now get your ass back in there and we're going to continue our date night" he said pointing towards the living room before turning around to pick up his jacket.

At first I just looked at him, then he gave me that 'do I look like i'm playing with you?' stare and I quickly scurried off to the living room.

_Yessir._ I thought to myself as I awkwardly smiled while I waited for him to come back "Wait until I tell Josie about this" I muttered to myself as blush shot across my face and a cheesy grin escaped as I leaned back against the couch.

* * *

Leave reviews :)

(Oh, working on **Love After War** as we speak :P )


	10. Come too far to give up now

Did not realize it had been this long since I updated this story!

**A/N: **Attitude Era Chick, OMG! Melissa! I didn't even think about her! now you have me imaging Steph like that as well lol! So now she can either be Rebel or Melissa! I love when you guys have fun with the stories!

BTW, remember in like chapter 2 or 3 or something, how I mentioned I would purposely misspell words or italicize things whenever Tony or Frank is speaking to put emphasis on their thick accents? yeah, don't forget that lol.

At some point I stopped proofreading…just putting that out there.

* * *

"Oh my god! he did what!?"

"I know right!" I said as I smiled

"Does he have any friends? because I need a guy like that" Josie said as she started laughing

"He's just so perfect, and he makes me feel like a complete goddess"

"you're already one"

I smiled. "Thanks"

"So when are you guys going to finally do it? like if you could guess"

"I don't know, like I said earlier he wanted to take things slow and i'm fine with that but if he keeps kissing me the way he did last night…i'm not sure that i'm going to be able to contain myself."

"I don't blame you"

"We're going to the gym together today, maybe i'll be able to get it out of him or something"

"I sure hope so, I need the details when it happens."

I laughed. "Of course you'll be the first person that I tell"

"I better be or we're going to have a serious problem on our hands."

I laughed and stayed on the phone with Josie for at least another hour before we finally hung up. I started getting ready for the gym and had a huge smile on my face the entire drive over. I just couldn't wait to see him again, to touch him, to taste him, god was he an amazing kisser and I could sure go for another round. I pulled up and I saw Paul talking to Karen, for the first time they did not seem to be arguing, they were smiling and he gave her a hug and kissed her on the top of her forehead as she walked off. I have to admit I did not like seeing that at all because a bunch of thoughts started to run through my head. _Were they getting back together? what did that kiss mean? have they been communicating more than usual? what did this mean for us?_ god I did not need to see that today, especially not after what happened last night. Then I couldn't help the thought that was currently running through my mind. _Maybe he didn't want to sleep with me because he was sleeping with Karen. No, Stephanie, just no. Stop this, pull yourself together._ I thought as I pulled into a parking spot. I just sat there for a moment trying to gather my thoughts when I heard a knock on the window which made me jump, I turned and saw that it was Paul, he had this huge smile on his face and he waved to me from the outside.

"Hey babe" I heard him say from behind the glass

"Hey" I said back as I grabbed my gym bag and opened the door.

He immediately hugged me and captured my lips with a kiss. I moaned the moment we made contact and I wrapped my arms around his waist as he slanted his mouth to deepen the kiss. It was apparent that I was not the only one that wanted more from last night, yeah, I could tell this whole taking things slow was not going to last very long, we just wanted each other too much.

"Mmm" he said as he pulled away "I missed you"

"You saw me last night"

"Doesn't mean I can't miss you" he said as he gave me a quick peck on the lips

I smiled.

"Did you miss me?"

"Yes" I said nodding my head "I did"

He placed one hand over his chest and looked stunned "Oh my god, Stephanie McMahon admitted that she missed me"

"Oh shut up" I said pulling back and breaking the embrace. I reached down and grabbed my gym bag that apparently slipped out of my hands sometime during the kiss.

Paul grabbed the bag from my hand and tossed it up on his shoulder. "Today is going to be a fun day"

I rolled my eyes. "Great, that means hard work, doesn't it?"

He smiled.

"I hate you" I said as I grabbed his hand and walked into the gym.

After I got warmed up Paul and I started to get deep into our workout, there was not much talking to be done, he would only say something when he was telling me how to do something or correcting me if I was wrong. I've learned that he's very serious when it comes to the gym and only speaks when necessary, but I was going to change that, if you're going to have me in here dying then you're going to speak to me.

"So, let me ask you question"

"Don't worry I'm not going to make you do anymore after this, next is-"

"No" Is aid cutting him off "It has nothing to do with the workout" I said as I continued to do my globet squats.

"Then what?" he asked as he titled his head to the side and folded his arms while raising a brow

"Karen"

"What about her?"

"Why was she here…and why did you kiss her on the head?"

"You saw that?" he said in a normal tone, as if he didn't care

"Yes"

"It was nothing"

"Really?"

"Yeah" he said nodding his head, "We were talking about Carter, and she told me something funny he did last night that's all."

"Oh"

"Yeah, and then she said she liked the fact that we're communicating better now and I agreed, we said a few more things and hugged and I just gave her a little kiss as I always do when we're on the same page, it meant nothing, not big deal" he said shrugging his shoulders

_You **always** give her kiss?_ I thought to myself

"Did that make you uncomfortable or something?" he asked when I did not reply

"No." I said setting the weight back on the rack when I finished. "I was just curious, that's all"

"Good" he said as he kissed the top of my head "Because you'll never have anything to worry about when it comes to me"

"Good" I smiling up at him. "Hey look, it's the girls" He turned around and smiled and waved at my newly found friends. "I'm going to go over there and say hello"

"Alright, but don't stay too long, we still have a workout to finish"

"I know" I said rolling my eyes as I walked over and hugged each one of them. "Hey guys, how are you?"

"We're good" Sarah said as she began doing her stretches

"I'm good" Jas answered

"I'm fucking amazing, as always" Chloe said as she sat indian style on the bench

"Please…" Jas said as she held up her hand "get over yourself" Jas said

"Please..." Chloe said mocking her gesture "get over your jealously" Chloe answered back to which I laughed.

"Don't start this again" Sarah said as she shook her head. "The entire car ride over man" she said looking at me

"I'm not surprised" I said with a smile

"Hey Steph" Jas called out

"Yes?"

"Why don't people play poker in the jungle?"

"Oh god" Sarah said face palming herself

I chuckled knowing exactly where this was going. "I don't know Jas, why?"

"Because there's too many cheetahs"

I laughed. "I like that one"

"really?" Jas said smiling "Alright, how many lips do flowers have?"

"How many?"

"tulips"

I laughed again as I watched Sarah shake her head and Chloe roll her eyes.

"See, this is why i'm fucking amazing and they're not" Chloe said

"You're not amazing" Sarah said

"You're right, i'm not." Chloe said pausing for a minute "i'm **fucking** amazing"

I laughed. "You guys are a trip, I love being around you"

"Aw, we love being around you too, Steph" Sarah said smiling at me

"When you're not ditching us of course" Chloe added in

"Chloe!" Jas said shooting her a mean look

"Whaaat? we still don't know why she left us that night"

"Maybe because she doesn't want us to know" Sarah said

"It's fine" I said as I shifted my stance to the other side. "Long story short, saw an ex I had a terrible terrible relationship with, he was abusive, things ended badly, hadn't seen him in years until then and I just didn't know how to react"

Sarah placed her hand over her mouth before speaking. "Wow Steph, i'm so sorry, we didn't know"

"It's okay, i'm fine now" I said smiling

"My bad" Chloe said softly

"You're fine"

"I know I am" she said standing up and looking at herself in the mirror.

I laughed. "wow"

"That's what all the boys say" she said as she flipped her hair

"I. Literally. Cannot. Stand. This. Bitch." Jas said through clenched teeth

"Then sit the fuck down" Chloe said as she looked at Jas over her shoulder.

Sarah let out a deep sigh. "My fucking god they're worse than children"

* * *

"Don't worry babe, everything will be fine, alright? I promise"

"Okay" I said getting myself together. "I guess i'm just nervous, that's all"

"You're so cute when you're worried"

"Shut up" I said as I playfully punched him

"Aye, you seen that chick _Paul's_ been working out with over der?" Tony asked as he and the other boys sat from across the room.

"Chick?" Frank said furrowing his brows "More like a full grown hen"

"you're such a jerk" Donnie said shaking his head

"Well i'm sorry, we all can't be pompous and snooty like you brits"

"We Brits are neither pompous nor snooty thanks" Donnie said proudly

"Just look at da way you fuckin talk" Frank said with his thick Brooklyn accent

"The way I talk? have you heard yourself?"

"Don't start you two" Tony replied

"Tony talks _just_ like me! exactly like me and you say nothin ta him!"

"I like Tony, he's not an idiot" Donnie replied to which Tony chuckled

"Thanks" Tony said with a smirk

"What's going on over here?" Rico said as he walked over to his friends

"Debate about accents and what not" Chaz said before he got up and walked away

"I can only imagine" Rico replied as he sat down

"Okay, and this guy" Frank said pointing to Rico "You say absolutely nothin about da way he talks, yeah?"

"That's because my accent is beautiful" Rico said smiling

"whateva" Frank said waving him off

"It's true, women love the way I talk"

"Back to what I was asking earlier, who is that chick _Paul_ has been around all day? he's barely talked to us" Tony said

"I have no idea" Rico replied, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Chaz talking to her and Paul "We can ask Chaz when he comes back over here"

"If she doesn't eat him first" Frank joked

"Fuck off, for all you know she could be like a model or some-en" Tony said

"What the fuck does she model then? car covers?" Frank said as Rico silently laughed to himself

"Stop being a fuckin' dick will ya?" Tony said as he pushed Frank

"Hey look, they're coming" Donnie pointed out

"Well no fuckin shit sherlock" Frank said rolling his eyes "I hope she eats you first"

"Knock it off Frank" Tony warned

"I'm nervous Paul, what if they don't like me?" I questioned as we got closer

"they'll love you" Chaz chimed in "They're all nice guys, Frank's a bit of a horse's dick, but other than that he's a good guy"

"wow" I said raising my brows

"Don't worry about it" Paul said patting me on the back "You'll love them and they'll love you or i'll kick their ass" he said with a smile "Hey guys" he said once we arrived over there, which to me felt like an eternity, that had to be the longest, shortest walk ever. I guess because I was nervous, after all, meeting a guy's friends is serious business, it's up there with meeting his family. He's introducing you to people who are apart of his everyday life and I view that as a very big deal and taking a very big step in terms of our relationship.

"Aye yo" Frank answered back

"So i'm going to cut to the chase, this here is Stephanie" he said wrapping his arm around my shoulders

"New client? nice ta meet cha" Frank said shaking my hand very quickly before turning back around

"No, Frank, she's my girlfriend"

Donnie raised both of his eyebrows and titled his head, while Tony offered me a warm smile and Rico did the same but it seemed a little forced.

"Well, hello there, how do you do? i'm Donnie" he said offering his hand to which I shook

"And he talks like a fucking idiot" Frank said rolling his eyes "I'm Frank, Franky, Franko whateva you wanna call me, once again, nice ta meet cha"

"I love your accent"

"SEE! I told you women loved da way the Franksta speaks"

I chuckled. "I was talking to Donnie, actually"

"Oooooh, buuuuuurn" Rico teased

"I like yours too" I said looking at Rico

"Burn times two"

"Fuck off" Frank said rolling his eyes

"Hi, I'm Rico" he said shaking my hand

"And i'm Tony," he said getting up to shake my hand "very nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you as well" I said smiling as I shook his hand "are you and Frank from the same place?"

"Sadly" Tony said to which we all chuckled.

"Whateva, anyway, we all come from all parts of the world. Tony and I come from the greatest city eva! The big B, Brooklyn N.Y.C baby" Frank said proudly before looking over at Donnie "shit faced Donnie as you know comes from that hell hole England where they still believe in havin' damn kings and queens and shit."

Donnie rolled his eyes.

"Chaz is from…somewhere"

"I'm Italian" He said looking at me "just like Frank, except I don't sound like i'm apart of the mafia."

Frank rolled his eyes as he ignored Chaz, "And our boy Rico here is from Mexico"

Rico rolled his eyes and signed. "For the last time, i'm from fucking Puerto Rico! my god man, it has my name in it! why is it so hard for you to remember that?"

"So as I was saying, Rico is from Spain and-" We all erupted with laughter, even Rico who couldn't help himself at this point. I stood there quietly and just watched them all talk and interact with one another and with Paul, they were a fun bunch and I could tell I was really going to like these guys and i'm glad I finally got to meet them.

* * *

"Is Donnie gay?" I asked bluntly as I continued doing my lat pull downs

"What?" Paul replied as he gave me a stunned "Why…why would you think that?"

"He's just…different, that's all"

"What do you mean _different?_"

"Has he always been that flamboyant?"

"I wouldn't call it flamboyant, he's just very metrosexual, cares about the way he looks and speaks, but i've met his entire family and all the men with the exception of like three are that way, they just carry themselves in a very dignified manner. But I tell ya what, he always pulled the hottest chicks"

"Oh, it was just something I wondered I said as I finished my workout "Is that all for today?"

"Yep" he said nodding "Tomorrow will be a tad more intense but we're going to finish it up with some cardio"

"Great" I said sarcastically as I walked towards the vending machine to get a bottle of water

"I bet you feel like shit huh Frank? talking all that crap about Steph the other day only to find out that she's a nice gurl" Tony said as he watched Stephanie walk over to the vending machine

"Aye, Aye, I didn't know he was with ha, iight? but yeah, she's cool people, I like ha"

"That's why you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover" Donnie said as he picked at his fingernails

"Exactly" Rico agreed

"Shut uuuup" Frank said getting annoyed

"Well, you were wrong, Steph is awesome." Chaz said as he placed the weight back on the rack

"Look" Frank said turning around to face the boys "She's a wonderful gal, beautiful and intelligent, and I regret what I said, now leave it"

"What was said?" Paul said as he emerged from out of nowhere. Everyone looked at Paul and then at Frank

"Just…look, it's not important iight? all dats important is dat your happy, yeah? and she's a nice gurl and I like ha. My apologies"

Paul stared his friend up and down and he wanted to say something but decided against it, he rather not know what Frank said and just keep the peace than have to beat the shit out of one of his best friends. "Fair enough" he said when he finally spoke.

"Where ya going?" Frank asked as he watched Paul turn around

"Over to my girlfriend" Paul said with a little bass and malice in his voice, it was clear that he was upset to find out his friend had been talking about his girlfriend, and knowing Frank, Paul knew he probably said some things that were the lowest of the low and it was just best that he walked away.

"Damn, I wanted to see Frank get his ass kicked" Chaz joked

"I second that" Donnie said raising his hand

* * *

"Alright, you ready for cardio?"

_Fuck no._ I thought to myself "Yes, just let me refill my water bottle" I said as I hurried over to the water fountain, my water bottle was full, I was just avoiding doing cardio for as long as possible.

"Hello, Stephanie" I heard a familiar voice say

"Hey" I said as I turned around with a smile "How are you?"

"I'm great" Donnie said as he leaned against the vending machine "If you're trying to avoid Paul, don't let him see you pretending to fill your water bottle" he said chuckling. That's when I noticed that he was purposely leaning up against the machine to hide Paul's view of me incase he glanced over her.

"Oh my god" I said covering my mouth "thank you so much"

Donnie laughed. "We do it all the time for people"

"God I love your accent" I said as I took a few sips from my water bottle

He chuckled and then looked at me with a large grin on his face. "Do you love it as much as you love thinking i'm gay?"

At this I had to turn my head to stop myself from spitting water all over Donnie. _What the hell? how did he know that I thought that…did, did Paul tell him that? oh no, I hope he's not offended._

Donnie covered his mouth with his hand as his shoulders shook uncontrollably as he laughed. "Are you alright?" he asked

"Yes, i'm fine…I…Donnie…i'm so sorry…I"

He put his hand up to stop me. "You're fine, you're not the first" he said folding his arms as he leaned up against the machine again "And it's okay, I understand why, I'm not the most 'manly'" he said making air quotes "of my group, so I get it"

"Donnie if i've offended you-"

"You haven't" he said smiling "I just care more than others about certain things. I rather be well groomed than have a bush on my face and yes, I enjoy the occasional mani/pedi, but I cannot help that I like to look nice" he said chuckling "I raised to care"

"Did Paul.."

"No" he said shaking his head "I overheard you ask him yesterday"

_My god this is embarrassing. _

"Don't be embarrassed" he said, as if he read my mind. "You're not the first to assume that and you certainly will not be the last, but no, I am not gay. I am happily married with a beautiful wife and three children"

"My god you're on a roll" I said "Paul never told me that part"

He laughed. "Because Paul, like the others, can be a dumbass"

"Normally I would defend my man, but since he plans on killing me today, call him whatever you like"

Donnie let out a small chuckle and offered me a warm smile. "I like you Stephanie, we all do"

It was my turn to smile like the cheshire cat, "Thank you, I like you guys too"

"Hey" Paul said as he walked over "are you guys still trying to hide people from me? I thought I told you guys to stop that" Paul said placing his hands on his hips.

"My apologies" Donnie said as he placed his hand over his mouth and snickered to himself

"And you" he said stepping in front of me "you know we're supposed to be out on hat trail today"

I couldn't hold back my laughter as I watch Donnie mock Paul from behind, he had his mannerisms and gestures down to a T.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he turned around and almost caught Donnie mid act.

"Oh nothing" he said as he patted me on the shoulder "good luck Steph"

"Thanks" I said as we watched him walk away "I love your friends"

"Good, one of us has to" he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we headed out the door.

* * *

"Come on Steph, you got it, it won't take us much longer to reach the top"

"I can't" I said panting

"No, you got to Steph, the moment you start to give up is the moment when you'll start to fail. You got to keep going, no one has ever gotten where they are by sitting on their ass."

"I was perfectly fine with sitting on mine" I said out of breath as I bent over and held onto my knees

"and now look at you" he said

I looked up, I was little shocked that he said it so bluntly, I didnt realize it but I was almost on the verge of tears falling down my face.

"Nope. There will be none of that, suck it up now" he said to me "You wanted me to treat you like I treat the others I train and this is how I am. I'm not going to go soft on you because you're my girlfriend, the exact opposite actually, i'm going to be way tougher because I know your potential. But I can't convince you of that unless you start to see it first"

I sighed and nodded my head, he was right, no one was going to do this for me but me, if I wanted change it could only start with me. "Alright" I said standing up straight. "Lets go"

Paul smiled. "That's what I want to hear"

As we got higher and higher up on the trail, I was feeling a littler more motivated each time, I mean I was going at a relatively low speed, but I was going nonetheless, and what made me even happier as that I saw a bench near by and Paul promised we could stop the next one….but he also promised that at the other three benches we passed.

"Almost there babe, after we pass that sign we'll only have a little bit more to go to get to the top"

"I just want to make it to the bench" I said, not taking my eyes off of it

He chuckled. "You and these benches"

As we got closer, I felt even more motivated knowing I was going to get to sit down soon, I actually caught myself sprinting a little bit to get to the bench.

"Woah, watch out now, look at her go" Paul teased from behind me

"Fuck off" I said as continued at my more quickened pace, just as I was feeling better about myself, a group of girls ran by me, and of all the girls in the world, it had to be the group of girls I met went I first started coming to the gym with Paul. The girl's that Sarah used to hang out with, they all glanced over at me as they passed me and started laughing and shaking their heads, they said nothing but their laughter spoke for them as I watched them speed up even more. All of my motivation, everything that i've been working so hard for just up and gone in the few small seconds that I saw them. They brought it all back, every mean thing that they said about me that day came rushing into my head, I just couldn't go on anymore, I stopped dead in my tracks and just stood there until Paul jogged up next to me.

"Hey we got….Steph" he said as he walked in front of me "Baby what's wrong?"

"I…I…can't do this shit Paul, I just can't, okay! look at me! fucking looking at me! this isn't for me, I want to go home"

"Hey didn't I say-"

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU SAID!" I screamed "I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!"

I could tell I stunned him, as he backed away a step or two, but he didn't have a look of judgment or anger on his face, it was very relaxed, understanding, and sympathetic. He turned around as he heard the other girls laugh again, clearly they didn't keep going, they got a little ahead of me and just turned around to watch their handiwork. Paul said nothing as he turned around and walked up the hill towards them, I couldn't hear or make out anything that he said from where I was standing.

"Paul, so good to see y-" one was about to say when she was cut off

"Shut the fuck up you ignorant bitch." All their mouths dropped open as they were shocked to hear what Paul just said, he was always so nice and soft spoken in the gym. "Now listen here and you listen good, that woman down there, who happens to be my girlfriend, that you're making fun of is working her fucking ass off to make a better life for herself and you three ignorant fucks are sitting up here making fun of her. What is this shit? high school? grow the fuck up. She thinks that looking like you would make her a better person, but she's wrong, she doesn't look like any of you and she's already a better person than the three of you combined. She has more heart and soul in one strand of hair than either of you idiots do in your entire body. You think you're so damn good looking because you're smaller, but guess what? you're not, none of you. You are actually average at most, and that's why I never paid any attention to you, and why the fuck would I want someone who depends on their damn daddy's for everything that they need? I've heard all of you speak, you can barely put a sentence together and you have the balls to try and put someone else down. Being rich and having a cute face with an average body does not make you the creme of the crop, so get over yourselves, and stop wearing so much damn make up, you all look like fucking clowns." Paul said as he turned around "Oh, and one more thing" he said as he glanced over his shoulder "Don't ever step another fucking foot back into my gym again" he said as walked away, leaving them stunned.

When Paul returned I was still standing in my same spot, I hadn't moved an inch, what would be the point anyway? I just wanted to go home and lay down in my bed. "Come here" Paul said as he grabbed my hand and walked me over to the bench "hey look at me" Paul said gripping my shoulders as we sat down on the bench "just let me be honest with you, you see them?" he said pointing to them as I watched them walk away, one looked as if she was crying. "Body wise, you'll never be be them alright?** never**. Not because you can't do it, but because that's not you period. You're not one of them Stephanie, not in here" he said pointing to my heart "and you've never wanted to be. You told me from day one you were not trying to be skinny, that you just wanted to get in good shape, I believe you on that. I don't think for one second you want to look like then, you could never be someone you've always despised"

"But that was just me putting on a front Paul"

"No it wasn't, yes, deep down you've always wanted the physical aspect, but you don't want to be like them."

"How would you know?" I said rolling my eyes

"because I know you"

"no you don't" I said getting up

"I know you enough to say that if you didn't want this, you wouldn't be out here"

"okay" I said shrugging "I do want this, but I also want to be them, I want their body, I just always pretended that I didn't. I want to be them, I want to be Karen, I want to be Sarah and Chloe and Jas, and Josie and every other person with an amazing body. I want to be the skinny bitches on tv, alright? I do, I fucking do and I just pretended that I didn't because it made me feel better."

Paul said nothing as he stood up and walked over and embraced me, at this point I just let the tears flow freely, I didn't care anymore, I had lost all hope at this point. "If that's what you want, I'll get you there" Paul said when he finally spoke "but you won't get there standing here"

"You're right" I said nodding my head "So let's finish this fucking thing" I said looking up at him

He smiled and took his thumbs and wiped away my tears, he kissed the top of my head and then he kissed my lips. "That's my girl" he said as he grabbed my hand "We'll finish this last part together"

I smiled. "Together" I repeated as he we headed up the steep hill together

"And as a treat for getting this far, once we reach the top I won't make us walk by down, we can take the gondola lift back down"

I looked up at him and the biggest smile spread across my face. "Oh hell yeah!" I said as I took off running

"Hey wait! I thought we were doing this together!"

"Fuck that! If i'm getting a free ride i'm about to put on my best Usain Bolt impression to get up this hill" I called back as I continued running

Paul chuckled as took off after me, and the more I ran, the faster I became and in that small moment, I realized that one day all of this was going to pay off and with Paul's help, that one day would come sooner than later and that left a huge smile on my face.

"Wait for meeeee!" I heard Paul call out, but I didn't stop, I couldn't stop, I've come to far, not only on this hill, but in my life to stop now.

* * *

**3** updates in the **same** week, i'm on a roll! Leave reviews :)))


	11. Chapter 11

You'll probably see this posted on the other stories as well, but yes it's me MegaTripleHStephFan or whatever the hell my username was a while back lol. Yes, I changed it to those who are wondering, my friend Chloe said I was evil and suggested this name and I agreed and that's why I changed it, so if this name pops up in your notifications, it's me!

I had to get this chapter in before I left, literally just uploaded this while in my car lol. (No i'm not driving, just sitting in the car ready to take off) I'll proofread it later. Couldn't think of a title, just enjoy the beautiful words "Chapter 11" lol

* * *

"I don't feel as sore as I usually do, it's really starting to get a little easier,"

"And it will continue to the more you do it each day"

"That's what she said"

Paul laughed. "You're great" he said as he walked over and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Don't let the chicken burn"

"Me? let food burn? are you crazy?" I said as I opened the over door, Paul laughed as he began setting the table. "What are we doing tomorrow anyway?"

"Legs"

"No."

"Yes" he said while giving me an evil smile

"Can't we do abs or something?" I said carefully taking the chicken out of the over and setting it on the table.

"uhh, yes and no" he said as he placed our beverages down

"What do you mean?"

"We'll cross that path when we get there" he said as he often me a half smile

"So i'm basically still too fat to start working on abs?" I asked bluntly

"I never said that"

"You didn't have to" I said as I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen to grab a few things

"Steph" he said softly but I held my hand up to stop him

"Stop it, it's alright, like you said, we'll cross that path when we get there" I said as I tried to brush past him but he grabbed my arm

"And we will get there"

"I know" I said looking down

"It just takes time"

"I know" I said still looking down "I just hate that i've been doing all of this work, eating healthy and I still feel like I haven't changed a bit"

"Haven't change?" Paul said as he lifted my head up, "Steph you've gone down an entire dress size, and you've lost 35 pounds in a little over three months, I know people in better shape than both of us who have not done that, so don't you dare put yourself down. I can see your results, your friends can see them and I know you do too. You're just downing yourself because you're not where you want to be, but if you keep working like this, then you will be in no time, trust me."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes, I hated it when he was right. "Yeah" I said softly as I gently pulled away from him and headed towards the table. "Let's just enjoy our meal, okay?"

"okay" he said softly as he offered me a warm smile and walked over to the table. "Positive vibes only" he said winking at me

"I know, I know" I said as I playfully rolled my eyes "And you can start by passing me two of those Hawaiian rolls"

He chuckled. "Enjoy babe" he said as he handed me the tray.

* * *

*They get into an argument about her weight because she starts to give up and jokes about it*

"Come on Steph" Paul said getting annoyed

"I'm trying my best"

"You either do or you don't, there is no try"

"okay, yoda" I said as I rolled my eyes and continued up the hill

"No, you walked last time, we're jogging, pick it up" he said sternly

"Paul!" I said stopping in my tracks "I'm fucking trying, alright? damn it, give me time"

"I've been giving you time for months, now fucking pick it up Stephanie, i'm sick of your lazy bullshit, let's go" Paul said as he furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. For the last few weeks he has definitely been treating me like his other clients, he did say a while back that he would do that and that he'd be much tougher on me, but lately it's went from tough love to just plain rude and quite frankly, I was sick of it.

"Don't fucking talk to me like i'm a child" I said as started jogging again

"Then don't act like one, only a child complains this damn much about everything they're told"

"Well if you want someone whose going to kiss your ass and try to impress you every five seconds, then I suggest you turn around and head back towards the gym and pick up one of those 'yes' bitches in the locker room."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Here we go with the excuses and the blaming. You know why they look the way they look, and why they're happy to be 'yes bitches' because they enjoying seeing the results, they enjoy the hard work, they don't make excuses. You want to look like them, but without the work. Stop hating on people who earned theirs Stephanie"

I clenched my teeth and I could feel my jaw tighten. How dare he? I was sick of his superior attitude and him always comparing me to women in the gym, he's been doing that a lot lately. If that's what he wants then he should be with them and not me, I work at my own pace, not his.

"Let's go" he said pointing up the trail. I said nothing as I looked him up and down and turned around and started walking back down the trail. "Where the hell are you going?" he called out as he caught up to me. "Hey, I know you hear me." I continued to walk in silence until he grabbed me by the arm. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"Let. Me. Go." I said through clenched teeth

"Or what?" he said tightening his grip on me, which made me have a flash back to when Eric would squeeze my arm as hard as he could before tossing me into a wall or whatever was near. I quickly snatched out of his grip and punched him as hard as I could, and then I pushed him with all my strength, causing him to stumble and hit the ground, I stood over him with my fist clenched and breathing heavily. "What the fuck?" He said as he looked up at me with a confused look on his face. "What was that for?" he questioned as he cupped his face

"Don't you ever, **and I mean ever** fucking grab me like that again, you understand" I said as I stared a hole into him.

Paul slowly got up and dusted himself off and gave me the up down before placing his hands on his hips and sighing softly. "What's going on here?" he asked

"If you want me to look like one of those little models down there at the gym" I said pointing down the hill "then forget it, I am who I am and if you don't like it, I don't care."

"What? I never said nor implied that I wanted you to look like them." he said as he moved his jaw around a little, obviously still hurting from when I punched him.

"Well you're constantly comparing me to them!"

"Because you constantly bring them up! name one time where I have brought any woman up and said that you needed to be like her? name it!" he said looking at me as I angrily stared at him before turning my attention towards the ground. "Right, you can't, because I don't. You're the one who brings them up, and when you do I simply explain why and how they got to the way they are and it's because of hard work. You just take it as a comparison, I have never done that and I will never do that." Paul reached over and gently took my hand in his "You have got to stop this, lately you've…changed. You start arguments with me for no reason, you're not as motivated as you used to be…baby what's going on?"

"It's nothing" I said as I removed my hand from his. "Can we just finish this?"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong"

"I don't feel like talking, okay?"

"that's a first" he muttered to himself "Well, alright, if you don't want to then I won't force you to, but you have to finish this hike."

"Alright" I said as I walked past him.

The rest of the run was silent, he didn't speak and neither did I. Whenever someone would run by or a client would come in contact with us, he would stop and speak to them but I kept going and of course it took him no time to catch up with me. This time I saw a little bench and I walked over to it and sat down, I was there for maybe all of 2 or 3 minutes when Paul caught up to me. "No" he said as he walked up to the bench "Let's go, keep it moving" he said snapping his fingers. I said nothing as I looked up at him and shook my head, during that little break I had, I thought about a lot. I was tired, and I felt defeated both mentally and physically and I was just not up for Paul's demanding attitude right now. "Steph, let's go, we don't time for your-"

"LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs like I did a few weeks ago "Just leave me alone damn it!" I said raising my balled fists and shaking them violently

Paul held his hands up. "What's your problem, Steph?"

I said nothing as I angrily wiped away a tear and started walking in the opposite direction. "just leave me alone Paul"

"Talk to me" he said grabbing my arm but letting go just as quickly as he grabbed it. I guess he remembered what happened earlier. "Listen, I don't know what's going on here, but you were doing just fine. I think you're just letting all the stress get to you, you're going to accomplish everything you set out to do and more. I know this because…"

Paul's words faded as I just stood there and zoned out, to be quite honest, I was tired of all of Paul's motivational bullshit, he had to realize that not everyone was like him, nor did we think like him. It's easy to say good things when you're in the best shape of your life, but when you look like me, everything you say goes out the window.

"I mean do you seriously think I started off this way? that I was just born with abs and big biceps?" he questioned "We all have to work hard to get where we want Stephanie, hell i'm still not where I want to be and you might think how is that when I look the way I look, but just because someone looks like they have it all, it doesn't mean that they do, far from it." Even though I was zoned out for most of his little speech, I did hear that part and to be honest, I never quiet looked at it that way, he's right, we all have to start somewhere, it just seems like i've been starting forever and that I was never going to finish. "So come on, you can't quit now, we gotta keep going"

Truth be told, it was not the working out that was getting to me, I was just going through a few things in my head that no one knew about except me. Paul was right, I have been acting weird with him lately but it was not because of the working out or anything, but because of Eric. I saw him again, but he didn't see me, there's just parts of me that just get terrified when I think of him, and to see him makes matters even worse. I remember hiding in the grocery store so I would not have to come in contact with him. Just seeing the way he moved, listening to the way he talked, I know he hadn't changed, he was every bit of the asshole he was when I was went him. Just being in the same space with him caused me to go crazy because eI knew that had I not escaped that night that I did i'd still be with him, he'd still be beating me, having his way, disrespecting me and calling me every name in the book, degrading me, making me lose every ounce of hope and motivation that I ever had. He just put a bad rase in my mouth, and no it was not fair to take that out on Paul because had no idea, but I just needed him to respect my space right now and let me handle things in my own way instead of forcing his own agenda down my thoart. I would go when I was good and ready.

"Not now Paul, not now" I said softly

"My fucking god" Paul said throwing his hands up in the air "You're unbelievable, just a lost cause at this point"

"fuck you Paul" I said shooting him a nasty glare. "Not everyone wants to fucking be like you, okay?"

"Yeah, and they're usually the ones who want to give up every ten seconds when things go rough, so" he said sarcastically

"You're a piece of work"

He laughed. "You're one to talk, i've been dealing with your bullshit since the day I met you in the donut shop, I think we can agree that i'm more than patient"

"Well if i'm that much of a problem, you can always leave" I said motioning down the hill

"Classic Steph" he said rolling his eyes, "always taking the easy way out, right?"

"Call it whatever you want, but you're free to go, you don't have to be my trainer or my boyfriend, choice is yours"

Paul clenched his teeth and I could see his jaw move slightly as mine had earlier. "I'm not leaving you" he said raising a brow

"Paul, i've just accepted that fact that i'm not going to be what I wanted to be, okay?"

"And whose fault is that?" he said folding his arms

"you ever thought that maybe I never intended or wanted to be this way Paul? did you ever stop to think that hey, maybe she had an abusive boyfriend that beat the fuck out of her everyday for no reason, that made her feel like complete shit and told her she would be nothing more than his stepping stool?" I said as I began to tear up "You ever stop to think that maybe the way he treated her drove her to her only escape and that was food, that the only way she knew she would never get hurt again was if she ate and ate and ate to the point of where she knew no one would ever want her so she would never have to deal with shit like that again." I said as the tears came rushing out "did you ever think about that Paul? **did you!? NO!** because you **never** try to see shit from someone else's point of fucking view" I said as I walked over and collapsed on the bench and began crying even harder, my shoulders shook uncontrollably.

"Steph…babe…I…I didn't know" Paul said as he walked over and tried to comfort me but I pushed him away.

"Just leave me alone"

"Let me help you" he said softly

"YOU CAN'T PAUL! OKAY!? YOU CAN'T!" I said standing up "Just leave me alone, please!"

"Steph"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Paul stood there for a minute, staring at me, I knew he wanted nothing more than to grab me and hold me, to comfort me, protect me, but I wouldn't let him, and I didn't want him to. I just needed my space and him walking away at this point would be the best thing he could for me. "Okay" he said softly as he nodded his head. "Please call me later and let me know that you're okay" he said as he walked over and gently held my hand.

I nodded and looked away. He slowly leaned over and kissed my temple and he gave my hand a gentle squeeze before letting me go. "I love you" he said as he jogged off.

_You love me?_

_He loves me?_

_….What?_

* * *

Leave Reviews and check out my new story **More Than words** if you haven't already!:)


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